Little Broken Heart
by LuckyLadybug
Summary: Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. A chilling and false accusation against Lector sends the Big Five and the Kaiba brothers searching for answers to the mysterious hit-and-run that killed Noa years earlier. Was it an accident, or was it far more sinister?
1. Chapter 1

**Yu-Gi-Oh!**

**Little Broken Heart**

**By Lucky_Ladybug**

**Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! It's part of my **_**Pendulum Swings **_**timeline that redeems Yami Bakura and the Big Five. This was partially inspired by the story **_**Waiting In Darkness **_**from KaibaGirl007 and partially from watching Noa's arc episodes for the umpteenth time. KaibaGirl007 and I pretty much have completely opposite takes on Lector. Her tale very chillingly has Lector coldly responsible for Noa's death, and while I of course don't have that angle, I did start to wonder what would happen if someone accused Lector of it. This story may be disturbing since it will largely explore the (canonical) death of a child and why it happened.**

**Chapter One**

"Hey, Lector?"

Lector looked up. He had been writing at his desk while Mokuba had been playing a portable video game on the floor. With Seto busy with a long series of company meetings and Marik helping Ishizu at the museum, Seto had asked Lector if he would be willing to keep Mokuba company for a while tonight. Lector, happy to think of being able to further bond with his former charge, had been very willing.

It was certainly something that wouldn't have happened some months ago. So much had happened in the last year, but the most shocking events had started taking place in the Fall. By now it had almost been a year since Lector and the rest of the Big Five had been restored to their bodies and started trying to live honestly. Seto hadn't believed they could do it, but they had certainly been trying hard.

Mokuba had always loved Lector, who had been appointed his and Seto's sometimes-caretaker by Gozaburo, so it wasn't as much of a surprise to Seto that Mokuba had started gravitating to him again. It had taken a while to start getting past the betrayal and hurt, but knowing that Lector had always been upset about what he had perceived as Seto using Mokuba and that he had tried on many occasions to protect Mokuba even in the middle of the Big Five's scheming had helped, for both Mokuba and Seto. By now, Mokuba and Lector had deeply bonded.

Tonight had been a peaceful evening, something they sorely needed after so much chaos and heartache over the past months. They had shared dinner together before taking a few moments to write and play video games, respectively. But now Mokuba sounded serious, hesitant. Something was on his mind.

"What is it?" Lector asked, turning the chair to face the boy.

Mokuba set his game system on a table and got up. ". . . I've been wondering . . . what was Noa like? When you knew him years ago, I mean. . . ."

Lector rocked back. He hadn't expected that, although maybe he should have. Seto had told him that Mokuba still felt sad about Noa.

"I'm sorry," Mokuba quickly added. "You probably don't want to talk about him. . . . I was just realizing that you knew him when he was alive, and . . . well, I still miss him and wish he could have come back with us. . . . Seto could have made him a robot body and maybe he could have learned to be happy again, with us as his family. . . ." He looked away.

"No, it's alright," Lector said. "You just surprised me, that's all." He sighed. "I'm sorry about Noa too.

"Noa was . . . a very innocent child who adored his father. As time went on, he unfortunately became more and more spoiled and expected everything to just be handed to him without him having to work for it. I had trouble getting anywhere with him."

Mokuba frowned in sympathy. "That must have been really hard, especially after the way your nephews treated you. . . ."

"I must admit I was seriously starting to wonder by then why anyone would ever want children," Lector said. "Your stepfather had me trying to help raise Noa, just as he did with you and Seto later, but Noa did not respect me. A couple of times it got so bad that I threatened to discipline him. He told me that Gozaburo would never allow that and he would see that his father fired me if I tried. I wasn't intimidated by him, but even when I felt forced to do as I'd said after a particularly dangerous case of disobedience, it didn't change anything. If anything, it only made Noa that much more difficult to get along with."

"Oh man." Mokuba looked down. "Gozaburo adopting me and Seto must have been the last thing you wanted. . . ."

"I can't deny that. But you turned out perfectly normal, a very sweet child." Lector smiled a bit. "You're the same age as Noa was, but in many ways, you have a maturity that he never gained in life."

Mokuba smiled too, and came closer to the chair. "I still wish you'd been our dad," he said softly.

Lector looked to him. "So do I," he said. "I would have taken good care of you both."

"And Seto wouldn't have got hurt and changed," Mokuba whispered. "He'd still be happy. . . ."

Lector drew an arm around Mokuba. "I know he's happy with you, Mokuba."

"Yeah, but he'd be even happier if Gozaburo hadn't happened," Mokuba said. He hesitated, then moved closer, really wanting to sit on Lector's lap but not sure he should just do it without permission. Seto would never tell him he was too old for it, but he wasn't sure how Lector would react. It wasn't behavior he would normally engage in, but somehow he liked the thought of doing it with Lector. Maybe it was because of how young he had been when his and Seto's parents were killed. He had snuggled with Seto on so many nights afterwards, and he knew how hard Seto had tried to be a father as well as a brother for him, but he still longed for the presence of an adult parental figure as well. He had wanted Lector to be that person years ago, and now that they were happy and growing close, he couldn't seem to resist.

Lector regarded him in surprise, but his eyes softened and he reached to lift Mokuba onto his lap. "I'm sure that's true," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't know exactly how horrible things were for the both of you. I would have fought hard for your happiness."

Mokuba snuggled close to him and threw his arms around Lector's neck. "I know," he said softly.

Even as Mokuba started to doze in this completely safe environment, Lector was wide awake and thinking of things. Noa was still on his mind now. He had been the last person to see Noa healthy and well those years ago. Could he have prevented what had happened? He had run it over and over through his mind in the past years and never did reach a satisfactory answer. Finally he sighed and drew his arms around Mokuba, starting to doze without half-thinking about it.

They had been like that for an indeterminable amount of time when the maid suddenly burst into the room. "Mr. Lector?!"

Both jumped a mile. "What's going on?!" Lector demanded. She sounded completely distraught.

"Mr. Lector, I . . . I don't know what to do," she exclaimed, twisting her apron in both hands. "One of your neighbors . . . she . . . she suddenly showed up on the doorstep and said she was going to call the police if little Mokuba stayed here any longer!"

"What?!" Mokuba leaped to the floor, shocked and indignant. "She can't do that! Why would she even say something like that?!"

"Well . . ." The maid looked conflicted. She was fairly new, brought in to replace the traitorous maid who had plotted to kill Lector and the rest of the Big Five over the past winter. From her eyes, she wasn't sure what to believe and yet she clearly didn't want to believe that woman.

"What did she say, Miss Helena?" Lector asked, his tone clipped.

He had expected Helena to cite the news stories about the Big Five's betrayal of Seto or about the time they had harnessed his augmented reality game to take over the city. Instead, the neighbor herself stormed to the doorway and glowered in at them, and what she said rocked Lector to his very core.

"I told her about the night Gozaburo Kaiba's young son died," she spat. "How you argued with him and he went away mad! And how you took off after him almost immediately!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Lector. "Isn't it a coincidence, that the story goes that little Noa Kaiba was struck by a car the night he died?!"

Lector just stared at her, unable to really comprehend what he was hearing. Was she really accusing him of . . . ?!

Mokuba was outraged. "What are you saying?! Lector went after him to try to bring him back! Why wouldn't he have gone?!"

Lector was still badly shaken, lost in the past he had already been thinking of before this woman had arrived. "I was the first one on the scene," he practically whispered. "I was too late. . . ."

"Oh, of course that's what you'd say," his neighbor retorted. "But isn't it strange that the vehicle that struck him was never found? I saw that your car's right fender was damaged the next morning! You had your chauffeur take it to be repaired!"

"It was damaged while I was trying to find him!" Lector exclaimed, his tone taking on more of an edge now that it was clear what she meant. "I went around a curb too fast because I heard a car throwing on its brakes up ahead and feared the worst. I ended up hitting a telephone pole!"

"Yeah, and if you really think some messed-up thing like this, why did you wait all these years to say anything?!" Mokuba snapped.

"I was afraid of what he or his friends might do to me to keep me quiet," she replied. "But when I saw you coming over tonight and apparently going to stay for a while, I knew I couldn't stay quiet any longer!"

"Wait a minute." Lector was again staring in disbelief. "You're not just saying you think I accidentally hit Noa and didn't come forward, are you?"

"I'm saying you did it on purpose, probably to get him out of the way so he wouldn't inherit KaibaCorp!" she spat with vehemence.

Now Lector's blue eyes flamed with fire. "Get out of my house!" he spat right back. "How dare you come in here and make these kinds of accusations?! If you dare to call the police on me, I will sue you for defamation of character! You were worried about what I might do to you? Well, that's what you'll have to contend with! And the law will be on my side, because there isn't any evidence of your outrageous story! Get out! _Get out!_"

She just glowered at him with unbridled hate, but turned on her heel and stormed out the door. Lector stood, seething, glaring at the spot where she had stood.

Mokuba looked up at him worriedly. "Lector? . . . Are . . ." He trailed off. He couldn't ask if Lector was okay. No one could be okay after being accused of something like that, especially when the memories of that night clearly still brought so much pain.

Lector turned away, holding a shaking hand to his face. "She was right that Noa and I argued," he said at last. "I told him he was putting too much stress and strain on his father because of how he was acting. He said I didn't have the right to talk to him like that and ran away. Yes, I went after him! Of course I went after him! It was late at night and I needed to get him home and . . ."

Mokuba slowly went over to him, taking his other hand between his. "Lector, you don't have to talk about it," he said softly. "You know I believe you. . . ."

Lector almost seemed not to hear him. "I heard that car's tires screech and squeal as it threw on the brakes. . . . Worse, I heard Noa scream. I knew what must have happened, but I didn't want to believe it. . . . I sped around the corner and hit the telephone pole. . . . I was dazed, but I pulled away and drove on. . . . I saw the tire marks in the road . . . and Noa's small body just lying there. . . . I dialed for 911 and ran over to see if there was anything I could do. . . . He was still alive, and so afraid. . . . I tried to talk to him and comfort him, but I didn't know what to do. . . . I didn't want to believe it was really as bad as it looked . . . or worse. . . ."

"Lector. . . ." Now Mokuba was crying, for both him and Noa. He hugged Lector around the waist. "I'm so sorry. . . ."

Lector came back to the present and hugged Mokuba close. "I suppose . . . it really was my fault in some way. . . ."

"No, it wasn't!" Mokuba exclaimed. "You didn't know Noa would run off or that a car would come speeding up before you could find him! You were trying to help. . . ."

"I certainly did a lot to help, didn't I," Lector said bitterly. "Then when Gozaburo changed so much and treated all of us so poorly and nearly drove Gansley to a heart attack, I agreed to your brother's plan of taking over the company. I can't deny I wanted more power, like he promised."

"But I'm sure you were also worried about your friends," Mokuba said. "You didn't want Gansley to get hurt worse . . . or die. . . ."

"That's true," Lector said.

"I think . . . people are really complicated," Mokuba said. "There's usually not just one reason why they do things. And I know you didn't want to hurt Gozaburo either. . . ."

"No, I didn't," Lector sighed.

Mokuba took out his phone. "I'm going to text the others. I'm sure you'd like to have them here for you after something like this."

Lector couldn't deny that. "Thank you, Mokuba," he said quietly.

The rest of the Big Five immediately set out for Lector's house as soon as they got the text. All were furious. By the time they arrived, Nesbitt was fired up enough that he really wanted to go find that neighbor's house and scream at her.

"Mokuba didn't say who it was that said that," he snarled in greeting to the others. "I want to know!"

"Knowing wouldn't really help at this stage," Gansley told him. "She didn't really see anything, only that argument with Noa. And going over to yell at her would hardly be productive."

Nesbitt growled. "She had no right, especially after all these years!"

"She sure didn't," Crump agreed.

"I almost wish she would go to the police so I could help Lector sue her," Johnson said. "Only I don't want something like this to get dragged through the papers. That would be horrible for poor Lector. There's been enough bad publicity already, especially because of what his father did to him!"

Gansley reached the porch first and knocked. "Let's just worry about trying to help Lector right now," he said. "He must be devastated."

Crump nodded. "I remember how shaken up he was that night. Noa's blood was all over his hands. . . . He talked about that and kept trying so hard to wash it all off. . . ." His eyes flickered. He was haunted by the memory.

Helena opened the door in response to Gansley's knock. "Oh good, you're all here," she said in relief. "Please come in. Mr. Lector's in the living room with Mokuba."

Gansley nodded. "Thank you." He hurried past her and into the living room. The others swiftly followed.

Lector was sitting on one of the couches. He got up to go to them, but while he was happy to see his friends, he found he didn't quite know what to say. Mokuba had told them what had happened. What could he add to that? He had just been accused of murdering a child! And not just any child, but one he had taken care of and whose death had haunted him!

"Hey, Buddy," Crump said in concern. "How are you doing?"

Lector opened his mouth to reply, then wasn't sure how to and shook his head. "I . . . I'm not well. I'm not fine. I . . ."

"Of course you're not," Crump soothed. "But I'm glad you're admitting it this time." He pulled Lector into a hug.

Lector hugged him close, a shudder running up his back. "It was so horrible that night," he whispered.

"I know," Crump said.

"She had no right to make you relive it," Nesbitt growled.

"I relive it a great deal," Lector said, "but not while being accused of being coldly and deliberately responsible."

"Why did she think you would do it?" Johnson frowned. Mokuba hadn't given them the details of that, instead just wanting to type a quick message to get them out here.

"To get him out of the way so I could take over KaibaCorp," Lector said.

Crump stiffened. "Okay, who was she?!" he boomed. "Now _I'm_ gonna go over and yell at her!"

"Not without me, you're not," Nesbitt snarled.

"It's still just as pointless to yell at her as it was five minutes ago," Gansley scolded. Nevertheless, his eyes were filled with a fury he didn't often have.

"Who was it, Lector?" Johnson asked. "We'll need to know in case she really does try to make trouble."

Lector gave a weary sigh. "You might think it would be the inquisitive woman next-door, but it wasn't," he said. "It was Mrs. Clarkson from across the street."

"I always thought something was funny about her," Crump growled. "She's even more off-the-wall than I realized!"

"There has to be something we can do," Nesbitt snarled. "Now that we know she feels this way about Lector, she could try to cause trouble any time Mokuba's over here . . . or any other time she feels like it!"

"Someone like that will probably never change her opinion no matter what the facts say," Gansley said. "But at least if the facts showed that Lector is innocent, there won't be anything of substance she can cause. Lector, did the police investigate you to make sure your vehicle wasn't the one that struck Noa?"

"Yes," Lector said. "Naturally they asked about the damaged fender. I told them and they went to the telephone pole and found paint samples that matched my car's. They also made sure the tire marks in the road didn't match my tires."

Gansley nodded in approval. "Then I would say you're innocent in the eyes of the law."

"Mrs. Clarkson might even try to say I had an accomplice," Lector said bitterly. "Maybe one of you, maybe someone else."

"She really would be batty!" Crump exclaimed.

Lector sighed. "Noa's death is still an open case. No one knows who struck him. I always thought it was an accident, but . . . Mrs. Clarkson makes me wonder. What if someone really did hit him on purpose?"

Mokuba gasped. "Why would they?!"

"I really don't know," Lector said. "Gozaburo had a lot of enemies. Someone could have wanted to take away the only person they thought he cared about."

"The police questioned everyone on that street, didn't they?" Gansley said.

"They certainly did," Lector agreed. "Some people weren't home. Those who were saw nothing, but only heard the impact . . . and Noa's screams. . . ." He clenched a fist.

"Who wasn't home?" Johnson asked. "It could be innocent, but on the other hand it could mean something, especially if the hit-and-run was deliberate. The residents might have wanted to be away so they could more believably say they didn't know anything."

"I'd have to look at the official report," Lector said. "I don't remember details like that."

"Seto probably has a copy of it locked away in old company files," Mokuba said. "I'll ask him!"

Lector smiled a bit. "Thank you, Mokuba."

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this," Mokuba vowed. "If someone really did kill Noa on purpose, we need to know who and why. And even if it was an accident, they still just drove away without doing anything to help and they need to be found out!"

"Yes, they do," Gansley said. "One way or another, we're going to put this case to rest."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes: In the Japanese, Gansley really does say that the Big Five lost almost all sense of self while wandering in cyberspace. I wish the dub had kept that; it made their situation all the more horrible and haunting and their despicable behavior in season 3 more understandable.**

**Chapter Two**

Seto heaved an exhausted sigh as he finally trudged out of the KaibaCorp building and over to his limousine. It had been a long day and night, which wasn't unusual, but after all the calamities of the past months he found himself honestly wanting a break. Right now, he was eager to pick Mokuba up at Lector's house and go on home. He greeted the chauffeur and got into the backseat, then leaned back to let his thoughts wander on the ride.

Mokuba was at Lector's house. . . . It wasn't an arrangement they had tried before, but since Seto had determined the Big Five were trustworthy and Mokuba and Lector got along so well, it had seemed a logical thing to try at least now and then. Seto wanted Mokuba to be a kid for as long as he could and not have to worry about company business all the time as he did. But regardless, Mokuba seemed to be happiest with people older than he was. For a while he had tried hanging out with some kids from school, and although he had enjoyed their company, he still preferred being with Seto, Marik, Yugi and his group, and Lector. Seto was alright with that. He certainly enjoyed having Mokuba with him a lot.

A streetlamp caught the glow from Seto's diamond ring and he looked down at it with a frown. Seto and the Big Five had been charged with using their elemental rings to help protect the world from disasters. Seto still didn't like being a magic user one bit. But if using magic was what it took to protect Mokuba, he was willing to do it. They had already had to help out in more than one disaster in the last few months. Whereas last year Seto had really wanted to forget the Big Five existed and were back, now they were among the people he saw more than most others.

The Ishtars and Téa were the other ones he encountered the most. It wasn't surprising with the Ishtars, since Marik had been Mokuba's close friend for some time now. But with Téa it never stopped being surprising to him. She had become one of Seto's closest and most devoted allies, never ceasing to fight for him during their last disaster and even being directly responsible, along with Mokuba and Atem, for restoring Seto to life when his attempt to contain the villain Reshef had left him lying dead. Mokuba had wanted to invite Téa over for dinner once Seto had fully recovered, and Seto had agreed. They had done that, and Téa continued to check in with them, frequently sending text messages to Seto and sometimes to Mokuba, making sure they were alright or sometimes just talking to them.

Of course, Yugi and the others checked in as well, although Téa was the most talkative. Having friends was such a strange and new experience, but it was a pleasant and enjoyable one, unlike what Seto had always thought it would be. He actually looked forward to the text messages, and the calls, and the visits. He could scarcely believe it, but the other day he had carried on a conversation with Téa through text messages during a long and mostly unnecessary meeting by holding his phone under the conference table. None of the others had caught on, which was just as well since Seto was supposed to be fully present and alert during the meeting.

Things had been peaceful for the last little while, aside from Pegasus's mysterious disappearance. That was inconvenient and irritating when they had needed to discuss a business deal, but at least Seto had been given the green light from Industrial Illusions to make his Duel Monsters Café. Some of the meetings tonight had been about that.

Sometimes lately he felt like just setting the business aside for a few hours and having fun, as Mokuba and Joey and now Téa had been encouraging him to do. But when he tried to think what he would actually do, he drew a blank. He had told Mokuba he didn't know anymore how to relax, which was really true. If he wasn't doing something constructive, he became restless. The only recreation he really did much of was playing Duel Monsters, but even that wasn't so recreational anymore, with his drive to be the best and always win—not to mention how Duel Monsters was used as a serious saving the world mechanism.

The limousine pulled up in Lector's driveway, jarring him back to the present. "We're here, Sir," the chauffeur told him.

"Good." Seto got out and walked up to the porch.

The last thing he was expecting was to be greeted by a very worried Mokuba and all of the Big Five as Mokuba flung the door open.

"Hi, Seto!" Mokuba smiled, but the concern in his eyes was obvious.

"Hey, kid. Is everything alright here?" Seto looked from Mokuba to the Big Five with a frown. He had expected the rest of the group to end up at Lector's house, but not for them to all look so disturbed about something.

"Seto, do you know where the old company files are?" Mokuba asked. "We . . . um . . . need one from when Gozaburo was the president. . . ."

"What?!" Seto burst out. "Why?!"

"I'm afraid that's because of me, Mr. Kaiba," Lector said. "Something happened earlier tonight that upset all of us a good bit." Between himself and Mokuba, as well as interjections from Crump and Nesbitt, the story was relayed to Seto. He listened, stunned and annoyed.

"I have no idea where the files about Noa even are," he said at the conclusion. "Gozaburo managed to lock up every mention of him after his death."

"Yes, I know," Lector said. "I do know where some of the important company files were kept after that, but I'm not certain if the ones about Noa are included among those."

"I had to look at any files relating to the company when I took over," Seto said.

"And then I suppose you destroyed them like you made me destroy my laboratory," Nesbitt grunted.

"Actually, no. I locked the files away in case I'd need them at some future date," Seto said. "I hoped I wouldn't, but you never know when some unfinished business relating to the prior management would crop up."

"What about that box we found in Gozaburo's bedroom?" Mokuba wondered. "What if that's where the files are?"

"I don't think all of Noa's files would fit in there," Lector said. "And we still don't have the key. . . ."

"I haven't wanted to bother with that box, but it sounds like maybe now we'll need to," Seto said. "I'll try to find a way to open it. Maybe I can have it X-Rayed first to see if Gozaburo used one of those locks that will destroy the contents if it's opened."

"I will also try to think where the files might be, if they're not there," Lector said. "Maybe in a safety deposit box at the bank?"

"Maybe," Seto agreed. "I'll look into that tomorrow. Meanwhile, are you ready to go home, Mokuba?"

"Yeah." Mokuba smiled at Seto and looked to Lector. "Thanks, Lector. I'm really sorry this had to happen. . . ."

"I suppose I'm glad that it came out at last," Lector sighed. "Oddly and sadly enough, if she was basing her opinion on what all of us did to you, Mr. Kaiba, then there might be some logic to it."

"It's not the same thing," Mokuba objected. "What you guys did was really messed-up and twisted, but you weren't trying to actually kill Seto by putting him in that first game. He would have still been alive, so there would have been hope. And I don't think you really would have just let him stay there permanently."

"I hope not," Lector said. "In any case, I did create the revival ritual at the very end of the game to make sure that anyone who fell during the game's events would be restored. I didn't think the game would really have the ability to destroy souls, but I didn't want to take any chances."

"And you weren't planning on Mokuba getting stuck in there at all," Seto remarked. "In your eyes, I actually had mistreated you, but Mokuba was innocent the same as Noa was before him." He frowned. "Although then there were Yugi and the others later."

Gansley sighed, tiredly. "All I can offer for that is that after we wandered so long in cyberspace, we had almost lost all sense of self. None of us were thinking clearly; we were just so afraid and so desperate to escape." He shook his head. "But I wish none of it had happened, and I know the others feel likewise."

The rest of the Big Five nodded. "If we could take it all back, we would," Nesbitt said. "God knows I wish I could. . . ."

"Well . . ." Mokuba smiled. "You're all good guys now and that's what matters to me. I'm so glad I have you back, Lector, and that I'm getting to know the rest of you guys too."

Lector smiled back. "I am very glad myself. Our lives are richer and fuller now than they ever were before."

Seto nodded. "We'd better go. I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow."

"Goodnight, both of you," Lector said.

Mokuba waved as he followed Seto down the steps. "Goodbye!"

Seto was already not in a good mood as they headed to the limousine, and when someone he didn't know that he assumed was Mrs. Clarkson came marching over to them, his mood soured even further. "What do you want?" he asked.

"You're making a grave mistake by allowing your little brother to come over here!" Mrs. Clarkson declared.

"I've already heard about you," Seto said flatly, "and while Lector has done some questionable things in his life, he didn't and wouldn't do what you said."

"But we're gonna find out what really happened to Noa," Mokuba said. "Then maybe you'll feel better about Lector!"

"Hmph," Mrs. Clarkson scowled. "I can't make you listen to reason, but I tried. Don't blame me if something unspeakably horrible happens because you wouldn't listen to me!" She turned and stomped off.

"Good riddance," Seto grunted.

Mokuba hauled open the limousine door and climbed in. "I can't believe for all these years she's really thought that Lector killed Noa!" he ranted.

"Not to mention not speaking up because she was afraid for her own safety," Seto said in irritation. "Although I suppose I should be grateful that she was worried enough about you that she finally decided to say something."

"I wasn't in any danger," Mokuba muttered.

"I know," Seto said. "As strange as that is to realize."

Mokuba sighed as they drove off. "I'm sorry, Seto. . . . I know the last thing you want to have to do is dig into the past. . . ."

"You're right," Seto said. "But the thought that Noa could have been murdered concerns me deeply. Since we don't know who it could have been, there's always the chance that it was someone in the company. What if it's someone who's still there now?"

Mokuba gasped. "I didn't even think of that!"

"You might be in danger from them, for all we know," Seto said. "So for that reason I'll keep digging into this mystery until we find the truth."

That brought a trace of a smile. "Thanks, big brother."

Seto stared off into the distance. Mokuba had always been more forgiving than Seto had been able to be. Seto still wasn't sure he had forgiven Noa for what he did to try to break them apart in the virtual world, but Mokuba had tried to see things from Noa's side of it—how lost and afraid he had been, left alone in virtual reality for six years, and coming to feel more like a machine than a human. He had still been a child too; he had only been ten when he had had the accident.

At least Seto agreed that the thought of anyone deliberately killing a child, even a spoiled one like Noa, was absolutely repugnant beyond belief. He wanted to know who had done it, if anyone had, and if Mokuba was in danger from them. Hopefully Gozaburo's power hadn't extended to removing the copies of the case files the police had. If there were any clues to be had in there, Seto wanted to know.

"Did you have a good time at Lector's aside from that happening?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I did," Mokuba smiled. "Although it made me wish again that things had been different for us . . . and that Lector could have adopted us. . . ."

"Well, it's too late for that now," Seto said.

Mokuba knew that was true. Seto likely didn't even want an adult influence as a guardian for himself, even though he was still a minor. Mokuba thought the idea was nice, but Seto preferred looking out for himself after doing it for so long. And although he trusted Lector with Mokuba, which was the highest honor when it came to Seto, he certainly did not see the man the same way Mokuba did. Mokuba doubted Seto would or could ever let his guard down around Lector or anyone else the way he had around their parents.

Actually, when Mokuba thought about it, Seto had even been aloof around them. He had been happier and had known how to have fun back then, but there had still been a part of him that always seemed to be closed off. Mokuba really didn't know if even their parents had penetrated that wall. Maybe it was like that movie _It's a Wonderful Life_, when the mother said that George Bailey was "born older." That seemed like a good description of Seto.

". . . I think I'll tell Yugi and the others what happened tonight," Mokuba said at last. "I'm sure they'd be interested too."

"Probably," Seto grunted in agreement. "Just be sure to also tell them not to go off doing something stupid by investigating on their own. I'm sure I can at least turn up the police report about the accident. The police should have a copy regardless of whether I can find ours."

"Okay." Mokuba took out his phone and started to type.

xxxx

Yugi was definitely stunned and horrified when he received Mokuba's text message. "Oh no!" he gasped.

Atem sighed. "What's happened now?" He and Yugi were sitting at the kitchen table, but dinner was long over and they had been about to go up to bed. More trouble was the last thing Atem wanted to deal with at the moment. It seemed their stretches of peace were never long enough.

Yugi showed him the phone. "Mokuba just sent this."

Atem quickly scanned over the message. "That's very bad," he frowned. "Hopefully it isn't true. In any case, it is strange that Lector's neighbor waited until now to say something. It _is_ possible that she just opted to keep quiet until she thought another child might be in danger, but since Lector no longer works at KaibaCorp, it doesn't even make sense to think Mokuba would be in danger judging by what she cited as Lector's 'reason' for attacking Noa."

"Yeah. Not to mention that Mokuba's been over at Lector's before, even though he hasn't stayed for hours before," Yugi said. "Do you think there's something more to her only speaking up now?"

"I'm not sure," Atem said, "but I think we would be remiss not to investigate her. Suppose Noa's death wasn't an accident. Maybe she knows something about the real perpetrator and they're threatening her. They could be ordering her to frame Lector or they'll have her killed. Alternately, what if she herself hit Noa, either accidentally or deliberately?"

"Oh wow. I never thought of that," Yugi exclaimed.

"But still . . . why now?" Atem frowned. "Unless she truly was just worried about Mokuba's safety, what on Earth would prompt her to speak up now as opposed to any other time in the past several years? It does seem very random."

Yugi frowned. "I can't think of any other reason to bring it up now," he said.

"Nor can I," Atem said. "But we had better start brainstorming. Perhaps we should also read all that we can about Noa's death."

"Maybe we won't even find anything," Yugi said. "Kaiba and Mokuba didn't know anything about Noa until we all ended up in his virtual world."

Atem nodded. "Gozaburo must have paid off the newspapers, television and radio stations, and anyone else who might talk about Noa's death."

"That's pretty sad when you think about it," Yugi said. "I wonder if Lector is right that Gozaburo used to care about Noa and then had a complete breakdown when Noa died."

"It's possible, Yugi," Atem said. "But in any case, Gozaburo allowed himself to be consumed by a hatred so deep and penetrating that it persisted after his death. He is still drowning in that hate, now worse than ever. Any love he once had for Noa is gone now."

"Yeah. . . ." Yugi looked down at the table. "I know that keeps haunting all of the Big Five. It really freaks them out that they were heading down that same path."

"At least they found their way back," Atem said. "They're our dear friends now."

Yugi smiled at that. "They sure are. And we have to do whatever we can to find out what happened to Noa, to help them as well as to set the record straight about Noa."

"We will," Atem promised. "But we should sleep now and see about it in the morning. Kaiba has access to more resources than we do, and he has a better idea of what to try first."

"Right." Yugi got up from the table.

xxxx

Lector had been silent for a long time, just leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees as he clasped his hands and stared at the floor. The rest of the Big Five were nearby, sitting on couches and chairs, worrying about what to say and how to say it and how to draw Lector out. This was one more heavy blow on him, and so soon after he had dealt with other heartaches and tragedies. He had reached his breaking point and snapped during the last disaster, but now, despite admitting he wasn't alright, he seemed to have retreated inside himself again.

It was Nesbitt who finally couldn't take that anymore. "Lector, _say_ something!" he burst out.

"I don't know what to say," Lector replied. He straightened and looked to Nesbitt. "My heart is shattered in pieces. I've wondered if Noa's death was my fault. Maybe it was, just like all of us were partially responsible for driving Gozaburo to his death. It wasn't our intention, but that doesn't change it."

"That's not true," Nesbitt snarled. "Not about Noa. The kid was being a brat and you were trying to talk sense into him. You had no idea he'd run away!"

"I knew he hated me," Lector said. "What was I thinking, trying to get him to shape up? He'd disobey me just out of spite."

"You were never good at staying quiet when you thought an injustice was going on," Crump said. "And Gozaburo had put you in charge of looking after Noa and trying to get him to be a decent human being. What the heck were you supposed to say? Nothing?"

"I don't know anymore." Lector sank back into the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "That time I felt forced to discipline him. . . . That was when he did some foolhardy stunt with his horse and nearly got himself killed. Gozaburo was on a business trip and I was the only one around who saw it. But my disciplining him didn't stop him. He still insisted he knew better and just hated me even more for interfering. Why Gozaburo entrusted me with his adopted children after that, and after Noa's death, I haven't the faintest idea."

"No one could handle Noa, not even Gozaburo," Gansley spoke up. "The fact that Mokuba always loved you proves that you _can_ take care of children."

"Or it proves that Mokuba is completely unique, since Seto never liked or respected me either," Lector grunted. "Nor did my oldest nephews. I have a terrible track record with children."

"Hey, you told me your nephews were hellions," Crump said. "They didn't get along with anybody, same as how Noa didn't. That wasn't your fault!"

"That's true," Lector conceded with a sigh. "They sent more than one baby-sitter to the hospital."

". . . Including you," Gansley frowned. Lector was subconsciously rubbing his right upper arm. All of them had noticed, at varying times and during various incidents when Lector had been harmed, the scar Lector bore in that exact spot.

"Yes," Lector said quietly. "And they didn't care."

"Oh Buddy. . . ." Crump stared at him in sickened horror.

"It's no wonder you've never liked children in all the years we've known you," Johnson said.

"Except for Mokuba," Lector said. "And Gansley's grandchildren have certainly been sweet and endearing as well."

"And they like you," Gansley said. "That should mean something."

Lector finally smiled a bit. "You've got a point." He sighed and pushed himself up again. "It's ridiculous to sit here berating myself for the past. It's not going to help anything."

"No, it won't. You need to show your pain sometimes instead of bottling everything up," Gansley said, "but putting yourself down isn't healthy either."

"You're not responsible for Noa's death," Nesbitt said. "It was one of those things that no one can do anything about."

". . . He was so frightened," Lector whispered, "when I caught up to him and he was lying there on the ground. . . . I tried to treat him for shock, raising his legs . . . covering him with my coat . . . talking to him all the while, even though I didn't really know what to say. . . ."

"No one could have tried harder," Gansley said.

"None of you were there," Lector said. "You don't know what I said, or did. . . ."

"No, but we know _you,_" Johnson said.

"And we all remember how shook up you were when we did see you," Crump said. "We all showed up at the hospital and found you in a bad way. You acted like you needed to be treated for shock yourself!"

"I can't imagine how painful it must be to have all of these memories dredged up again because someone is accusing you of being responsible," Gansley said. "None of us can. But because we remember how it was for you in the past, we're all the more worried for you now. You do need to let out all the pain and heartache you're feeling, and have felt for years. But don't allow yourself to become so wrapped up in the past that you forget the present. What happened is over."

"No," Lector said. "It can never be over now until we find out the whole story."

"And we're going to," Gansley promised. "But we don't want to see you slip back into the state you were in that night, Lector."

Nesbitt nodded. "You were completely devastated. None of us knew how to deal with it . . . especially me." He growled and turned away. "I remember screaming at you to pull yourself together and snap out of it."

"That was probably what I needed to hear right then," Lector countered. "Although I must admit it's difficult to find the balance between showing how I'm feeling and becoming so lost in it that I need to 'snap out of it.'"

"I know," Crump sighed. "That's probably something confusing for all of us. But we'll try to help you."

"And in any case, we'll always be here for you," Gansley said.

Lector smiled. "That, my friends, is the best help possible."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

_The road was dark; between the new moon and the sparsely placed streetlamps, the shadows were ominous and eerie as they stretched across the area, broken only by the occasional burst of light from above or from an approaching car's headlights._

_Lector was angry as he drove, desperately looking for the missing boy and calling to him out the car window. If Noa heard him, he didn't answer. They had rarely got along at all, but it was worse this time. Lector had scolded Noa for his selfish and thoughtless behavior for the umpteenth time and had added how hard Noa was making it for his father. Noa had yelled that he hated Lector and his father would never treat him like this before running through the open gate and down the street._

"_Noa Kaiba, you get out here right now!" Lector exclaimed. "Your father is going to be worried sick! I know you care nothing about me, but surely you're not so self-centered that your father means nothing to . . ."_

_The screech of a car on the block around the corner chilled his blood. When Noa screamed in pain, he knew he was too late. Still, he couldn't bear to believe it. He sped up, practically flying around the corner in his panic and horror. The car crashed into something in his way, knocking him back and for a loop. But he only took a moment to glance at the telephone pole before speeding off again._

_The vehicle he had heard hadn't bothered to stop. All he saw in his headlights were the tire marks in the road . . . and the small body of the child who had been struck. In horror he pulled over to the curb and leaped out, running over to Noa._

_Blood was everywhere, trickling down Noa's face as well as pooling underneath him. He was still alive, and conscious; he looked up at Lector with bleary and pained eyes. For once he really looked like the young and frightened boy he was. "Lector? . . . I'm scared, Lector. . . . What happened to me?"_

_This was a nightmare. It was the kind of thing you watched on the news or in motion pictures. It wasn't the kind of thing that happened to you or someone you knew._

_Lector's hands were shaking as he took off his suitcoat. "It's going to be alright, Noa," he said. "I'm going to get the doctors and your father and everything will be just fine. . . ." He covered Noa with the coat before taking out his phone and desperately dialing for help._

"_911 dispatch, what is your emergency?"_

_Lector had to take a deep breath before trying to speak. "I have a small child who was hit by a car," he said. He told of the blood and gave their location and the dispatcher said she was sending the paramedics right then. But he barely processed any of it. All he really heard, over and over, was what he had said at the beginning of the call._

_Hit by a car._

_Hit by a __**car.**_

_He set the phone on the hood of his car and looked for something to elevate Noa's legs. All the while he was trying to talk to Noa, to keep him alert, to comfort him, to assure him that everything was going to be alright. And Noa was too stunned or scared or in shock to cry, but he kept responding, expressing his fear, trying to reach out and grab for Lector whenever he moved too far away._

"_Lector, don't leave me!" he pleaded at one point._

"_I'm right here," Lector insisted. "I'm not going to leave you." He came back with his briefcase, which was all he could find. With one arm he gathered and lifted Noa's legs just enough to slide the briefcase on its side under them before lowering them again._

_Noa was only semi-conscious by the time the paramedics arrived. Lector stumbled to his feet, watching as they worked on him, checking him for injuries before sliding the backboard under him and lifting him up to the stretcher._

"_How bad is it?" Lector demanded._

_They exchanged a grim look. "It's bad," one of them quietly admitted. "Are you his father?"_

"_No," Lector said. He reached for his phone. "I'll have to call him. . . ."_

_He pressed the first digit and stopped. He had left a red fingerprint on the screen. His hands shook. He hadn't realized. . . . Noa's blood was all over him._

"_Sir, are you alright?" the second paramedic exclaimed._

"_I . . . I . . ." Lector frantically used the back of his hand to wipe the blood away. "I'm not the one who was lying in the road! Just get Noa to the hospital! I'll be right behind you!"_

_The paramedics were still worried. "You're badly shaken up," one of them said. "You'd better come with us and not try to drive right now."_

"_I'm fine!" Lector boomed. But he realized how he was yelling in the next moment and his eyes filled with chagrin and regret. "I . . . I'm sorry. Yes, I'll come with you." It was less because he thought he couldn't drive and more because he wanted them to hurry and go instead of worrying about him. He only barely remembered to grab his briefcase out of the road and lock his car before climbing into the cab of the ambulance._

_Another attempt to call Gozaburo left more bloodied fingerprints on the phone's screen. He stared at them in horrified disbelief. The phone dropped into his lap as he broke down, a cry of agony tearing from his lips._

_He barely remembered the drive to the hospital. The paramedic driving cleaned off the phone and called Gozaburo before they left. The man was there waiting at the KaibaCorp hospital when they arrived, and he ran off with the doctors as they pushed the gurney down the hall towards the operating room. Lector was left standing in the waiting room, still so badly shaken he could barely think what to do._

"_Buddy?! Buddy, are you okay?!"_

_He turned at the sound of Crump's voice. All the rest of the Big Five were there, hurrying over to him. He had completely lost his composure, but he didn't care if they saw him like that._

"_Noa's blood is all over my hands," he choked out. "I have to wash it off. I have to get it off! . . ."_

"_We'll get it off," Gansley said calmly. "Come with me." He brought a strong arm around Lector's shoulders as he led him towards the men's room._

_Lector didn't know how long he scrubbed, desperate to remove every last trace of the blood from his hands and from the cuffs of his shirt. He saw the red swirling down the sink, over and over, but there was always more. And when he finally did get it all off, he still didn't feel clean. He sank back against Gansley, still shaking._

"_It's going to be alright, Lector," Gansley told him. He guided him back out of the room and to the others._

"_That's what I told Noa," Lector said blankly. "But . . . he was so badly hurt. . . . How can he ever be alright?"_

"_Don't think about that," Gansley said. "Think about yourself right now. You need to calm down."_

"_I can't calm down!" Lector burst out. "I just saw a ten-year-old boy lying in the road after being hit by a car! The driver didn't even stick around to help! If I'd only been faster . . . or if I could have stopped him from running away in the first place . . ."_

_Now Nesbitt snapped. "Pull yourself together!" he boomed. "Snap out of it!"_

_Lector jumped a mile. "Nesbitt . . ."_

"_Gozaburo will need you now," Nesbitt growled. "Maybe Noa too. You can't be falling apart like this!"_

_Lector stared at him in surprise. ". . . You're right," he acknowledged. He drew a shaking breath. "I haven't been professional at all. Please forgive me."_

_That caused Nesbitt to turn away completely. "You didn't do anything that you need to be forgiven for," he muttered. He gripped his arms. "I just can't stand to see you like that. That's my weakness, not yours."_

"_None of us can stand it," Johnson finally spoke up. "But we understand it."_

_Lector tried to calm down. He went over to talk to Gozaburo, but he barely seemed to hear. When Mrs. Kaiba arrived, she couldn't get through to Gozaburo either._

"_What happened, Lector?" she finally demanded. "How did this happen?"_

_Anguish gripped Lector's heart. "Noa was angry with me. . . . No, we were angry with each other. He ran away and I went after him, but I . . . I was too late. Nothing can make up for what I've caused. I . . . I am so sorry, Mrs. Kaiba. I . . ."_

"_It wasn't your fault, Lector," she said quietly._

_That didn't make him feel any better about it._

_It seemed ages later when the doctor finally came out, weary and discouraged. From the expression in his eyes, the truth was obvious, although no one could bear to believe it._

"_Well?!" Gozaburo demanded._

"_I'm sorry, Mr. Kaiba," the doctor told him. "The injuries are just too much. Noa can't survive the night."_

Lector snapped awake, flying upright in the bed. He gasped, breathing heavily as the horrible scene faded to his darkened bedroom. No white, sterile halls. No doctors. No devastating pronouncements.

But it _had_ happened, those years in the past. Lector groaned, digging his fingers into his hair.

"My fault," he whispered. "It was my fault. . . ."

He hadn't been able to deal with that in the past, and just as he had done regarding his part in Gozaburo's fate, he had locked that knowledge away. Then he had been able to mull over the horrors of that night without emotionally falling apart, but it hadn't ever brought him to the truth he had sought of whether he could have prevented it. Now Mrs. Clarkson and her cruelty had placed it all back in the open again.

He slowly got up and walked to the window, staring out at the darkened night. It was a new moon tonight too. He rested his hands on the windowsill and leaned forward, gazing at the darkened yard without really seeing anything.

"Lector?!"

He started and turned. Crump had opened his door and was standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light from the hall. But the concern in his voice was obvious.

"I'm alright," Lector said, almost automatically. "I was just thinking."

"Buddy, you're still not alright," Crump retorted. He came in and walked over to him. "You look like you just went through the whole experience again! And you were so shaken up that when you were getting ready for bed, you forgot your pajama top!"

Lector looked down at himself. Crump was right; he had been standing shirtless at the window. Chagrined, he immediately pulled the curtains and stepped away.

". . . I find it difficult not to consider myself responsible for what happened to Noa," he finally said. "Think about it, Crump; he ran away because we were arguing and he was angry! How is that not my fault?!"

"He shouldn't have got angry," Crump said. "You were right and he was wrong, but he didn't wanna see it. And . . . well, it's not like I know what it's like to be a parent or something, but I've heard about people who are really good parents and their kids still get hurt and the parents beat themselves up about it. You think you were being a bad caretaker, but it's like Nesbitt said—it's nobody's fault. It's just one of those things that can happen."

"It shouldn't happen," Lector said bitterly. But as Crump's words sank in, he looked at his friend in gratitude. "But thank you."

"Yeah." Crump grabbed Lector's open pajama top off the bed and draped it around his shoulders. "So how about you settle back down and try to get some more sleep? You sure need it."

"I know." Lector pulled the cloth around himself. "But I may go to sleep slipping right back into another dream-memory of the past. I don't need that."

"How about I sit up with you for a while?" Crump suggested. "Maybe you'll drift off easier that way and there won't be any more nightmares."

Lector had to smile a bit. "We can try it."

It was strange how natural it felt to settle into bed while Crump sat nearby on a chair. Part of him couldn't help remembering when that had happened with one of his older siblings in Crump's role. Things had changed so much since then. But one thing that was still the same was that a brother was watching over him.

"So . . . do you have any good memories of Noa?" Crump asked.

Lector thought about it. "I enjoyed seeing him interact with his father. Gozaburo was so devoted to him and they were often doing things together. It was their special time and I certainly didn't tag along, but I'd see Noa coming to see his father or to tell him he was ready to go. And I'd see a light come into Gozaburo's eyes. I know it wasn't my imagination. Gozaburo used to be a great deal different than he became."

"Didn't Noa ever treat you nice?" Crump sadly wondered.

Lector leaned back into the pillow and closed his eyes. "I suppose occasionally, if he was in a good mood, he was nice enough to me. But it didn't take long for that mood to shatter."

"It used to be like that with you and Nesbitt," Crump said. "Any smidgen of peace between you two was a miracle that didn't last long."

"How well I remember." Lector opened his eyes again. "But we got past that and became so close when we started caring about each other. That never happened with Noa."

Crump sighed. "I'm sorry, Buddy."

"So am I." Lector sank farther into the pillow and let his eyes close.

Crump was relieved when he heard Lector's breathing deepen after a moment. He had slipped back to sleep, and for the moment, at least, he seemed quite peaceful. Hopefully he wouldn't have any more cruel dreams tonight.

xxxx

Despite the late end to the night, Seto woke up relatively early. He was still badly troubled by what had been said the previous night and he wanted to do all he could to uncover the truth about Noa's death, especially since he wasn't positive Mokuba wasn't in danger from whoever had hit Noa. But he really wasn't sure where to look for the files Gozaburo had hidden. Not wanting to waste time, he opted to go downstairs to talk to the supercomputer about it.

"Well, what's got you up so early?" she greeted him.

"I need to know where Gozaburo put any and all files about Noa," Seto said.

"Noa, huh?" The supercomputer whirred as she searched through her database. "That was a touchy subject for him."

"I know. I need everything available on Noa's accident," Seto said.

"I'm lookin'," she told him. "I never saw into the files myself, but I remember him making digital copies. He may have burned the originals. Oh, here's something." Several filenames and directories mentioning Noa's name popped onto the middle screen. "But they're all password-protected."

"We're not strangers to cracking passwords, are we?" Seto replied. "I'll figure it out."

It was sometime later when the correct password was hit upon at last and the files were unlocked. Seto immediately opened the first one and started to go over it. "This isn't the right one," he grunted. "It's about how he put Noa's mind and spirit in the virtual world." Seto couldn't care less about the technical procedure involved, although he supposed that sometime it might be useful information in order to develop a defense against it. For now, however, he set it aside and picked the next one.

"That one looks like it's about Noa's daily schedules and who tutors him when," the supercomputer remarked.

"Which is virtually useless unless we end up needing to contact those people for information," Seto said. He leaned back, thinking. "Actually, maybe we will. Send a copy of this file to my other devices and then print it."

"You got it!" chirped the supercomputer.

The third file was the police's accident report. Seto looked it over very carefully. Lector's car being investigated was mentioned. Then it went on to describe interviewing the neighbors and who hadn't been home. Seto made note of all the names.

"What's this?" he said in surprise. "Scott Irvine lived on that street?"

"Still does," said the supercomputer. "I recognize the address."

"And he was one of the ones who wasn't home," Seto mused. "He also still works at KaibaCorp."

"Surely you don't really think he would be involved!"

"I don't know. I don't want to overlook him just because he's one of my most valuable employees," Seto said. "If there's any chance Mokuba might be in danger from whoever did this to Noa, I have to find out who it is and lock them away."

None of the other names meant anything to Seto, but he kept them all in mind as well. He had the supercomputer send that file on to his other devices and continued down the list, but the rest of the files were of no interest . . . until he reached the last one. "What's this? . . ." Seto stared at the contents before him. "Gozaburo did his own investigation into the accident?"

"I guess he wanted to make sure the police didn't miss anything," the supercomputer said.

Seto scanned over the file. Mostly it was Gozaburo looking into all of his enemies and rivals and their whereabouts.

"No wonder he kept this hush-hush," the supercomputer said. "It would've made a huge scandal and really dragged KaibaCorp into the mud if he'd gone public with it!"

"He even investigated the von Schroeder family," Seto frowned. "He seemed to devote the majority of the investigation to them, probably since they were his top rivals."

"Do you really think Siegfried's father would have been capable of something like this?" The supercomputer sounded surprised.

"I don't know," Seto mused. "I'll want to look into the possibility. Siegfried himself would probably have no idea about it, if it is true."

"And he'd probably be pretty outraged if you brought it up," the supercomputer said.

"Not to mention if it is true, it'd be a huge blight against the entire von Schroeder family," Seto said. "He'd probably want to cover it up."

"So how are you gonna look into it?"

"I'm not sure," Seto said. "I may have to send someone in undercover to join the staff. The only problem is, it would have to be someone I trust completely, and anyone I trust completely would already be known to the family." He leaned back, thinking.

"We could try hacking in," the supercomputer said.

"Only Siegfried is such a master hacker himself that he might spot us immediately and lock us out," Seto said. "And you can bet he would make trouble about it. We don't need that kind of mess."

"Well, it sounds like you're just gonna have to ask him," the supercomputer remarked.

"I know," Seto scowled. "But I just don't trust him to tell me the truth. If he investigated and learned something abominable like that happened in his family, he'd never want to let it out."

"Hey, I just thought of something," the supercomputer said. "But you probably won't like it either."

"Right now I'll listen to any suggestions," Seto said.

"Why don't you try talking to von Schroeder and see what he says. If you don't get anywhere, go to Plan B—sending someone in. If it was someone who's a master of disguise, they might not figure out the truth."

"But who do I know who's a . . . oh no." Seto sat up straight.

"I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to find out if something like that happened," the supercomputer said. "Especially when SchroederCorp is yet another former weapons manufacturer."

"You're probably right, but I still don't like the thought of asking him for any favors," Seto scowled.

"Well, it's just a suggestion."

"I'll think about it," Seto grudgingly conceded. "But even if I agreed to try it, it might be a waste of time. The von Schroeders might not have had anything to do with what happened."

"Isn't it worth making sure?" the supercomputer said.

"Maybe. Siegfried's father is dead, so he couldn't come after Mokuba anyway. Although . . . if he _was_ guilty, he probably hired someone to do the actual deed, and that person might still be alive." Seto's expression darkened. "Alright. I'll talk to von Schroeder, and depending on his answer, I'll consider hiring Alister to go undercover at the von Schroeder estate."

"He might respond better to just being asked," the supercomputer said. "All things considered."

"Yes, but if I hire him it will feel less like I'm begging him for a favor," Seto said.

"You're both such stubborn guys," the supercomputer said. "Well, we'll see how it goes."

"Yes," Seto said. "We will."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes: Wilbur Thorton and his antique mall first appeared in my story **_**The Diamond Rose Glass**_** (which I still need to fully finish). The antique mall is 99% based on a real location I love.**

**Chapter Four**

Siegfried was silent as he worked at his computer. Things had been relatively peaceful for a while, but the memories of what had happened recently when Reshef had wreaked havoc were still on his mind. Reshef had possessed him quite against his will and proceeded to attack everyone in sight. He had almost harmed Leonhard and he really had harmed one of Seto Kaiba's former board of directors. Both calamities had badly shaken him up. The thought of a force being able to seize control of his body and force it to do as it wished was like something out of a late-night horror film.

Leonhard was shaken up too. He had never seen Siegfried like that, although seeing him crazed and hateful at the Grand Championship tournament had come close. After what had happened with Reshef, Siegfried was afraid that all of those painful memories had been dragged back to the surface again.

Of course, Leonhard did his best to put on a smile and act like everything was fine. He didn't want to cause Siegfried any pain; he knew it wasn't Siegfried's fault about Reshef, and Siegfried really had tried to repent for what was his fault at Seto's tournament. Siegfried had tried to talk to him about it, but Leonhard had just assured him that everything was alright. He had, however, also offered to listen if Siegfried wanted to talk about what had happened to him, but Siegfried hadn't felt ready for that.

The computer dinged and he came to attention as a video chat window appeared on his screen. "What? Herr Kaiba wishes to speak with me?" he said in disbelieving amazement as he glanced over the request. He could hardly pass that up out of curiosity if nothing else, so he accepted the chat request and leaned back to watch as the camera loaded an image of a grim-faced Seto.

"Ah, Herr Kaiba. To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?" he said, his voice dripping with flowery sarcasm.

Seto just grunted, not in the mood for Siegfried's jokes or tricks. "I need to talk with you about something, von Schroeder, but you may want to hang up on me when I explain what it is."

"I would probably wish to hang up on you regardless, but go ahead," Siegfried replied.

"It's come to my attention that my stepfather's son Noa may not have been killed accidentally," Seto said. "I've started investigating and I learned that Gozaburo tried to check up on all of his most dangerous rivals and enemies . . . including your father. He didn't learn anything conclusive, so as far as the investigation was concerned, your father remained a suspect."

Siegfried went stiff, all thoughts of humor gone from his mind now. He gripped the armrests of his chair, his knuckles going white. "What are you saying? Do you think my father would have been capable of murdering a small child?!" he cried.

"I don't know, von Schroeder. That's what I'm calling to ask you."

Siegfried snarled. "Of course he wouldn't have done such a thing! How dare you!" His eyes flashed. "You're probably just looking for a way to discredit SchroederCorp and the entire family!"

"That's more your speed," Seto coldly snapped. "I have better things to do than sling mud, especially when you sling mud perfectly well that backfires on yourself. Listen to me for a minute. You told me your father went insane because he could never surpass KaibaCorp. Can you honestly say that even in that condition he wouldn't have been capable of coming up with a plan to kill the only son of his lifelong rival?"

Siegfried looked like he wished he could burn through the screen to Seto with the power of his gaze. "No! He would never have done that! He didn't murder children!"

"I hope you're right, von Schroeder. But I also hope that if you ever find out anything to the contrary, you'll let me know. If Noa was murdered, whoever did it might still be out there somewhere. I have no way of knowing whether they might target Mokuba someday." Seto leaned forward. "And even if you don't want to dig up the family skeletons, don't you want to make sure your brother is safe?"

"They would have no reason to come after Leonhard!" Siegfried retorted.

"Only we don't really know that without knowing who they are, do we?" Seto said.

Siegfried snarled at Seto in German and disconnected the call without a Goodbye. But instead of getting up, he slumped forward over the desk and rested his laced hands on his forehead.

He hadn't been that much older than Noa when the boy had been killed in a mysterious hit-and-run accident. Was there any chance . . . any possible chance that in his madness, Siegfried's father actually had decided to cripple Gozaburo by getting rid of his son? Would he have really been that cold when he had a son of his own? Oh, not that he had ever really loved Siegfried, but . . . to coldly commit murder on a child younger than Siegfried?

"No," he whispered. "No, that cannot be true! . . ."

But now that Seto had planted the thought in his mind, he knew it wasn't going to go away. There probably wasn't any way to even learn the truth after so many years, but he felt he had to try. He had to _know. . . ._

"Siegfried?"

He looked up with a start. Leonhard had just appeared in the doorway to the office, his eyes filled with concern.

Siegfried straightened and immediately attempted to put on a false front of being fine. "Yes, what is it?" This was hardly something he wanted to share with his younger brother. It was too horrible.

Leonhard wasn't fooled, however. "I heard you yelling in here. What's wrong?"

Siegfried cursed his inability to be emotionless and cold like Seto. "Nothing is wrong," he insisted.

"I know something is," Leonhard said. "Siegfried, I want to help!"

Siegfried gave a tired sigh. "Leonhard . . ."

"You said you'd try to include me more and let me in and help," Leonhard pleaded. "I still want that, elder brother."

Siegfried turned away. "Some things are too horrible for innocent minds. Please trust me, Leonhard. Right now, it is better that you don't know."

"Siegfried . . ." Leonhard fell back, regarding his brother in helplessness. "I can't make you tell me, but . . . I wish you'd trust me enough that you'd want to. . . ."

That pierced Siegfried's heart. "It's not a matter of trust, Leonhard," he insisted. "I honestly don't want you to suffer with this knowledge, especially since it might not be true."

". . . Okay then." Leonhard gave Siegfried a hopeful look. "What if it is true? Will you tell me then?"

Siegfried sighed but nodded. "If it is true, then I must tell you," he said.

He wasn't even sure where to look. Checking all files from around the time of Noa's death might be a good start. If there was an unexplained financial transaction or other odd listing, that might require more investigation under the circumstances.

He frowned as he focused on the computer screen and the aborted video chat. Should he call Seto back and say he was willing to listen? It was an act of humility he really didn't want to perform, but it might be to his own advantage to do so. If Seto really believed in the possibility that Siegfried's father could be guilty, he wouldn't stop looking into it just because Siegfried objected. And Siegfried would rather know what Seto was up to instead of being left in the dark about it.

"I have to call someone now," he said at last. "I need privacy."

"Alright." Leonhard backed up to the doorway. "I hope everything's okay. . . ."

"So do I, Leonhard," Siegfried said. "So do I."

xxxx

Lector was both surprised and relieved to wake up feeling well-rested. He had imagined it would be a miserable night, but instead he couldn't even remember going back to sleep or dreaming. Maybe Crump's presence actually had calmed him down to that end.

He looked over with a start at the sound of snoring. Crump was still in the chair, slumped down and fast asleep.

"Oh Crump," Lector said softly. He smiled, getting out of bed as quietly as possible and going to the doorway. Sleeping in a chair wasn't comfortable, but he didn't want to wake Crump since he probably wouldn't go back to sleep then, even if he laid down.

Gansley was just coming up the stairs when Lector opened the door. "Lector, how are you feeling?" he greeted.

"I'm alright," Lector said. "Crump ended up staying with me and dropping off to sleep in a chair."

Gansley looked both amused and touched. "I see. Well, I've been doing some research and I wanted to tell you what I've found."

Surprised, Lector walked over to the stairs. "What is it?" he asked as they headed down again.

"On the day of the accident, a mysterious man came to KaibaCorp and spoke with Scott Irvine," Gansley said. "I found the log from that day; he registered as a Mr. Jones."

Under Gozaburo's leadership, the company's government contracts had necessitated all guests signing in at the reception desk and being given a numbered badge to wear while they were on the premises. They were also required to log out again. The logs had been kept through the years, and after the change of command Seto hadn't really cared what happened to them since they were no longer relevant. Some records, such as what Gansley had found, had been digitized.

"Does Nesbitt remember anything about it?" Lector asked.

"He didn't at first, but then he recalled Irvine abruptly leaving the department when he was called and not coming back for some time. He only returned after the stranger had signed out."

"But why on Earth would Scott Irvine have wanted to murder Noa?" Lector said in disbelief.

"I can't imagine. But he lives on the street where the accident happened. Mr. Kaiba called and spoke to me about it several minutes ago." Gansley handed Lector a print-out of the company log from that horrible day. "He was also one of the residents who mysteriously wasn't home that night."

Lector took the log, stunned. "Then we need to speak with him."

Gansley nodded. "After you get dressed and we eat, we will."

xxxx

Scott Irvine had already arrived at work and was starting in on the day's tasks when Seto and Mokuba arrived with the Big Five in tow. He looked up, shocked by the procession. "I never thought I'd see you five in KaibaCorp again," he remarked.

"We've patched things up with Mr. Kaiba," Nesbitt grunted. He had been Scott's coworker and later, his boss.

Seto nodded. "They're welcome here as visitors. Right now we wanted to talk to you about this, Irvine." He held out the print-out of the company log Gansley had found.

Scott took it and looked at it. "Yes, what about it?" He looked completely unfazed, even after seeing the line where Mr. Jones had registered.

"Who is that guy?" Nesbitt asked. "He came to see you the day Noa Kaiba was hit by a car."

Lector cringed at Nesbitt phrasing it that way. But if Scott picked up on the insinuation, he said nothing.

"He wanted me to invest in his business," Scott said.

"Was Jones his real name?" Seto asked.

"No," Scott said. "He was concealing his identity on the log because he didn't want certain people to know he'd been to see me."

"Why would that matter?" Seto flatly asked.

"He believed there were people who would try to discourage me from investing . . . like you, Mr. Nesbitt." Scott looked to Nesbitt, who grunted.

"That's true, I probably would have," Nesbitt said, folding his arms. He wasn't a fan of investing unless he believed it was a sure thing, which was hardly ever.

"So did you invest?" Seto demanded. "And is his business still around?"

"Yes, I did," Scott said. "His business has since merged with another company in town—Fragmented Triangle."

"Those weirdos again?" Crump sighed.

"We'll need to verify your story," Seto said. "What's his real name?"

"Jeremy Parker," Scott said without hesitation.

"One more question," Seto said. "You weren't home that night. Where did you go?"

Now Scott frowned, looking suspicious for the first time. "I was talking with Jeremy Parker again. What is this, Mr. Kaiba? How do you even know I wasn't home?"

"Let's just say there's ways," Seto intoned. "If you were with Parker, you don't have anything to worry about."

The group was deep in thought as they left Scott moments later.

"He really sounded like he was telling the truth," Mokuba said.

"Yeah, and I can't think of any reason why he'd wanna knock off Gozaburo's kid," Crump said.

"I've heard of Jeremy Parker," Seto said. "Irvine could have grabbed his name out of thin air, but since he'd know we'd look into it, let's hope he's not that stupid." He took out his phone. "I'm going to call Mr. Parker right now and ask about his connection to Scott Irvine."

"And if he is telling the truth, where do we go from there, Mr. Kaiba?" Lector asked.

"I'm not sure," Seto admitted. "Gozaburo did his own investigation into the accident and seemed to focus most of his attention on the von Schroeders."

"No way!" Mokuba cried.

"It would have been Siegfried and Leon's father, if it was anyone," Seto said. "Of course, Siegfried denied that any such thing was possible. But after blowing up at me, he called me back and said he'd help us look into it. He wants to prove his father didn't do it."

"What if he did?" Johnson wondered. "Would his sons cover it up?"

"I know Leon wouldn't," Mokuba said fervently.

"And we'll just have to trust that Siegfried won't either," Seto said. "Although I really don't trust him very far." He started to dial Jeremy Parker's business number and stepped away for the call.

"This isn't the first time Scott Irvine came under suspicion when something went wrong," Gansley remarked.

"Yes, but he wasn't guilty last time and there's no real reason to think he's guilty this time," Nesbitt said.

"You know him better than the rest of us do," Johnson said to him. "What is he like?"

"Dedicated," Nesbitt said. "He loves his work. I can't say he's all business because he enjoys playing poker when he has some spare time. But I never felt that there was anything to worry about from him."

"Of course, those types can sometimes be the most dangerous," Johnson intoned.

Seto hung up and walked back over to them. "Parker confirms Irvine's story in every particular," he announced. "And he said that they were at a restaurant that night. Scott picked up the bill."

"So you could find out if they're telling the truth by looking up if he really paid the bill," Crump said.

"And you can be sure I'm going to," Seto said. "But this definitely looks like a dead end."

"What about Mrs. Clarkson?" Nesbitt asked. "Has anyone investigated her yet?"

"Her whereabouts for that night are unknown," Seto said. "But she doesn't have a police record and she's supposedly an upstanding citizen."

"I don't trust her," Nesbitt growled.

"Or perhaps you just don't like her," Gansley pointed out.

"And you do?" Nesbitt retorted.

"Not particularly, no," Gansley grunted.

The elevator doors opened and Téa stepped out. "Hi, guys," she greeted. "Any luck?"

"I wish," Mokuba sighed. "Nothing yet, really."

"How do Yugi and the others feel about it?" Lector wondered.

"We're all upset," Téa said. "None of us want to think someone deliberately killed Noa. He did a lot of horrible things to us in his virtual world, but then he sacrificed himself to save all of us. And in any case, he was just a kid. No kid deserves to get hurt like that."

Mokuba looked down. "They sure don't."

"There were other residents who weren't home, Mr. Kaiba," Gansley said. "Who else do we need to question?"

Seto opened the copy of the police report on his phone and scrolled through it. "Unfortunately, one of the residents has since passed away and another has moved with no forwarding address. The only other one who wasn't home is Wilbur Thorton."

"Thorton?!" Téa echoed in shock.

"He's the brother of the man you've worked for," Seto intoned. "He runs an antique mall downtown."

"Oh, of course," Téa remembered. "My boss talked about his brother sometimes. I've never been to his store, but it sounded cool."

"Well, I guess we're all going now," Crump said.

Seto nodded. "Is anyone else coming?" he asked Téa.

"They're in school," Téa said slowly. "They said they'd cover for me and I could come see if I could help."

"I completely forgot about school," Lector exclaimed. "Shouldn't you two be there now?" He looked to the Kaibas.

Seto grunted. "Right now I needed to worry about this. You're right that Mokuba should be in school, but we agreed that he could take off today because of how important this case is to him." His eyes flickered. He still didn't understand Mokuba's feelings about Noa, but under the circumstances Mokuba also wanted to prove what had happened for Lector's sake, and Seto did understand that.

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah."

"Hey, how does a guy running an antique mall have enough money to live in a fancy house?" Crump suddenly wondered.

"He lives in his niece's house with her," Seto said. "She was home that night, but she didn't know where her uncle was."

"He might not know either, after all these years," Téa said.

"Especially if he's as scatter-brained as the guy you've worked for, Téa," Mokuba commented.

Téa flushed, a bit embarrassed. "Well, I guess we'll soon find out."

xxxx

Thorton Books and Antiques was located in an old building on the historic Main Street of Domino City. From the outside, it appeared to be about three or more floors high. As the group parked in front and got out, Téa craned her neck back to look up at it. "I can't believe I've never been here before," she commented.

"That's really so surprising?" Seto retorted. "I've never been here before either."

"I doubt any of us have," Lector said.

"I came once, to find an out of print law book," Johnson said.

"I've been here too," Crump chirped. He walked ahead of them and pulled the door open. "It's a great place. You're gonna love it!"

None of the others knew at all what to expect when they got inside, and the large room of varied old and new objects surprised them. To the left was a nook filled with assorted home decor items, including several artificial trees decorated for the next upcoming holiday. To the right was a vendor selling quilts. As they walked towards the counter, they discovered shelves of books mixed in with mint condition Barbie dolls, a bathtub of assorted buttons, and glasses cases featuring Trolls and other old toys and books.

"Wow," Mokuba said.

"You've hardly seen anything yet," Crump said, his eyes gleaming. "This place is huge!"

"Crump, I never figured you for such an antique hound," Gansley remarked.

"Eh. Some of the stuff brings back good memories," Crump said. "And some of it makes me think about things that never were that could have been."

"Wouldn't that be depressing?" Johnson wondered.

"Sometimes," Crump said. "But for that matter, that's how penguins made me feel too—showing me a better life than I had. It was comforting to see that there really were good families, even though I didn't have one."

"We can take time to look around," Gansley said. "But first we should speak with Mr. Thorton."

"There he is, at the counter," Johnson noted. "He's building a card house out of Duel Monsters cards."

". . . Yeah, he must have his own quirks," Téa sighed.

The man looked up, hearing the conversation. "Good morning, everyone," he greeted. "What can I help you with?"

Seto walked out in front. "We wanted to talk with you about something that happened several years ago. The police questioned your niece about whether she saw an accident that happened on your street. She said she didn't and you weren't home."

Mr. Thorton suddenly looked a bit wary. "Yes . . . ?"

"Do you remember where you were?" Seto asked. "Apparently it wasn't here either."

"I think I was visiting my brother Burt," Mr. Thorton said. "He gets very excitable and paranoid and sometimes I have to go over and calm him down."

"That sounds like him," Téa said.

"So you didn't see or hear anything about the accident?" Seto persisted.

"No," Mr. Thorton said. "But I heard about it later. Such a young child . . . how horrible!"

"It was," Lector said quietly.

Mr. Thorton started, not having focused on Lector before. Now, as he did, his eyes widened and he stumbled back from the counter in shock. "You . . . !"

"What about me?!" Lector exclaimed, stunned.

Gansley laid a hand on Lector's shoulder. "You've seen him before?"

Abruptly Mr. Thorton turned away. "No. I must be mistaken. I'm sorry."

Nesbitt snarled and stormed forward, grabbing the store owner by the shoulder and turning him to face them. "You've seen him before!" he insisted. "That's obvious! But why would you act like he's someone to be afraid of?"

"I don't think that," Mr. Thorton stammered. "I just . . ."

"Did you see him on the night of the accident?" Seto demanded. "Were you there after all?"

"No!" Mr. Thorton burst out. "No, I wasn't!" He pushed Nesbitt's hand off his shoulder. "I . . . saw him in the news. That's all."

"You've probably seen all of us in the news, except maybe Miss Gardner," Johnson said. "Why single out Lector?"

"If you've been withholding something about the accident all these years, we're going to find out," Seto vowed.

"You're investigating the accident?!" Mr. Thorton stared in fresh horror.

"Yes, we are." Gansley was growing angry now himself. "If you know anything . . ."

"No, I don't! I _don't!_ Please excuse me, but I have to leave now." Mr. Thorton turned and fled from the counter. In the next moment he vanished into an office and slammed the door shut.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The group was left standing in stunned shock and annoyance at Mr. Thorton's sudden flight from the conversation—and from the room.

". . . Well, that wasn't suspicious at all," Crump remarked with dripping sarcasm.

Lector looked badly shaken. "What is this?!" he exclaimed. "Why am I suddenly a plague?! If what happened to Noa was in any way my fault, I still wasn't _trying_ to harm him! It was an accident!"

"Of course it was," Gansley soothed.

"I was trying to help him, to save his life!" Lector turned away, holding a hand to his face.

Nesbitt was furious. He ran over to the office door, harshly pounding on it with both fists. "Come back out here!" he snarled. "What right do you have to treat Lector this way?! He didn't do anything wrong regarding that kid! All he ever tried to do was to keep him safe!"

"I doubt that's going to help, Nesbitt," Gansley said.

Nesbitt hit the door one final time with his fist. "It should," he said bitterly.

Finally the door creaked open again. Mr. Thorton seemed to have composed himself more, but he still looked like he wasn't sure what to make of anything. He sighed, deeply, and walked out past Nesbitt. "I shouldn't have behaved that way," he admitted. "I'm sorry."

"We would like an explanation," Gansley said, his tone cool as ice.

"I was driving back from helping Burt that night," Mr. Thorton said. "I turned onto my street and I saw some kind of commotion. That boy Noa was laying hurt and this man . . ." He nodded to Lector. ". . . He was apparently trying to help. The paramedics were arriving, so I didn't think I could do anything they couldn't, and I decided to turn around and drive for a while until it was all over. I didn't think anything of it until last night."

"What happened last night?" Nesbitt demanded.

"A woman claiming to be that man's neighbor came to me and said she knew I'd seen something that night. She said I shouldn't think Mr. Lector was innocent in the matter." Mr. Thorton sighed and shook his head. "So it was just startling when you came in here today. That's all."

"That's really messed-up," Mokuba said. "Why would Mrs. Clarkson come and talk to you? How would she even know you saw something when you never admitted it?"

"And it's not like what you saw would even be helpful in an investigation," Seto said.

"I asked her why she was only coming to talk to me so long after the tragedy had happened," Mr. Thorton said. "She said it was because some other kid was with Mr. Lector last night and she was afraid he would meet the same fate."

"It still doesn't make sense," Johnson spoke up. "What you saw couldn't possibly serve to convict Lector, so what was the point?"

"Maybe just to torture me," Lector said darkly.

"Or maybe she thought you or Thorton or both of you saw something you really didn't," Seto said. "What if she is either the one who struck Noa or knows who did? She could have returned to the scene to see what was happening and saw Thorton watching and driving away."

"And she's trying to frame me because she thinks I saw something about the accident?" Lector said in disbelief. "I didn't!"

"Well, it's about the only thing that makes sense," Gansley grunted.

"What about this?" Seto suggested. "What if Noa said something that could point to who hit him? Or at least, what if Mrs. Clarkson thinks he might have?"

"That's awful," Téa gasped.

Mokuba looked down. He hated to think of Noa being struck like that. So young, and afraid. . . . And poor Lector blaming himself, and trying to stay calm while trying to comfort Noa. . . .

"How about it, Lector?" Johnson asked. "Do you remember Noa saying anything that could have been about the vehicle that hit him?"

"I . . ." Lector trailed off as the memories of the past swirled around him again. Noa had mostly talked about being scared and not wanting Lector to leave him, but . . .

". . . He said something about a golden dog," he said. "I didn't really think it meant anything at the time. I was so upset, and I thought he was delirious and going into shock. . . ."

"A golden dog?" Mokuba blinked in confusion. "So . . . there was a dog in the car, a Golden Retriever or something?"

"I don't know," Lector sighed. "He was saying a lot of things that didn't seem to make sense."

". . . Oh." Mr. Thorton looked worried now. "When I was driving onto the street, a car zipped past me with a golden dog hood ornament. . . ."

"You remember that?!" Nesbitt said in disbelief.

"I have a photographic memory," Mr. Thorton insisted. "At the time I didn't think anything of it, but now . . . what if that was the hit-and-run vehicle?!"

"Did you see anything else on the hood?" Gansley asked. "Such as blood?"

"No, I don't think so," Mr. Thorton said slowly. "But it was dark and blood might not have shown up well. It was a black car. I only saw the hood ornament because it caught the light from my headlights."

"What about the driver?" Crump pounced. "Did you catch any glimpse of them?"

"The windows were tinted, so no," Mr. Thorton said. "And there was no license plate. It may have been a recently bought car with a temporary license in the back window."

"Tinted windows and a hood ornament," Seto mused. "It sounds like the person had money. Was the car a limousine?"

"No, but it was fancy," Mr. Thorton said. "A full-size Cadillac."

"This is getting really creepy," Téa said. "Maybe it really was an accident, but the person didn't want to stop because it would mess up their career with a scandal or something."

"But how does Mrs. Clarkson fit in?" Johnson wondered.

"She has money, of course, but fancy cars like that aren't her style," Lector said. "She's more the type who donates most of her money to charity."

"So she pretends to be upright when maybe she really isn't," Seto remarked. "I still don't buy that she was only worried about Mokuba, especially not after she came to talk to _you._" He looked to Mr. Thorton.

"Maybe she's covering up for somebody else?" Crump suggested. "Maybe her kid did it?"

"I don't think she has any children," Lector said.

"Well, we're sure gonna find out what she _does_ have," Crump vowed.

"And I hope you'll help us." Seto looked coolly at Mr. Thorton, who shrank back.

"Of . . . of course I will," he stammered. He straightened. "I don't want to be used by that woman or anyone else! If she wanted to use me to cause pain and misery, I reject it wholeheartedly!"

"Good," said Seto.

Mr. Thorton sighed. "And I'd like to make things up to you all right now. I can't offer any more help on the case yet, but . . . I could take you on a tour of my establishment?"

Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That certainly wouldn't help. Although . . . it might be good for Mokuba to get his mind on something enjoyable for a while. . . .

"Alright," he consented.

The Big Five were also willing—especially Lector, for the same reason as Seto. Mokuba and Téa agreed too. So Mr. Thorton took them around to all the rooms and explained some of the history of the building and of some of his favorite display pieces.

"This building has been standing for over a century," he said proudly. "It was built by a man who built similar buildings in other locations and states. It's housed various establishments over the years, but once I traveled to an antique mall in the Rocky Mountains that looked almost exactly like this one and I knew I wanted to bring that amazing store to Domino City. I've copied it almost completely, except for a lot of the merchandise, of course! And by now, the store I used as my template has changed some." He sighed a bit. "I have an entire basement level filled with books. They used to, but now they sell a small portion of those books upstairs in place of some of the vendors and the basement isn't even accessible anymore." He shook his head. "That isn't nearly as incredible as before! I don't intend on ever changing the layout of my version of the store."

Gansley was a bit amused in spite of himself. Mr. Thorton was certainly passionate about his store, and about keeping it exactly the way the original had been when he had fallen in love with it.

Lector was only half-listening. A small statue of a boy riding a horse had caught his eye, and unwillingly, it was making him remember other unpleasant incidents with Noa.

_Noa loved all the special lessons and activities Gozaburo set up for him, but by far the horse-riding was the most dangerous . . . especially the way Noa wanted to do it. He always wanted a horse with too much spirit and would always try to push it to do the most daring tricks. Lector was usually present on the scene, and he found himself increasingly horrified by the stunts Noa tried to pull._

"_Your father never intended for you to use your horse-riding abilities like this!" he exclaimed after another terrifying afternoon of helplessly watching Noa act like a daredevil._

"_My father knew I could do it or he wouldn't have arranged for me to learn to ride a horse," Noa said haughtily. "If he knew how you always try to hold me back, he would kick your posterior from here to next week!"_

_That bent Lector's patience almost entirely the rest of the way. "Excuse me?!"_

_The sharp tone to his voice made it clear that Noa had gone too far. But, not wanting to concede, he just scowled. "I didn't say any bad words." Noa quite prided himself on his vocabulary, along with everything else. Lector had often heard him bragging about how his speech was far above that of the "common" kids._

"_You don't have to say any of those tasteless, crude words for that to be completely disrespectful," Lector retorted. "Would you say that to your father?!"_

_Noa flinched and turned away, trying to hide that he was going red. "Of course not."_

"_Then you shouldn't say it to me either," Lector said. "Your father entrusted me with looking out for you. Therefore, being disrespectful to me is the same as being disrespectful to him."_

"_Okay," Noa finally retorted. His shoulders rose and fell. "I'm sorry."_

_Lector was still angry; he was sure Noa didn't really mean it. But he drew a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Alright then. Let's go home."_

_Noa went quite willingly. But although he did behave for a short while after that, it wasn't long before he was mouthing off at Lector and doing dangerous stunts again._

"Lector?"

Lector started. Mokuba was looking up at him now, his eyes filled with concern. "Lector, are you okay?"

Lector sighed and half-absently ran his hand over the base of the statue. "Yes. . . ."

It was amazing how different these two children were. Mokuba had always been sweet with Lector and liked him and even seemed to want his influence as a guardian. He never would have dreamed of talking to Lector like Noa had, or of repeatedly doing dangerous stunts even after being scolded about them. And if Lector was ever injured, Mokuba was always there worrying about him, unlike Lector's nephews had been. It was hard for Lector to imagine Noa being worried about him either.

What if Lector had gotten there in time and had managed to save Noa, but perhaps hadn't been able to save himself and had been struck by the car instead? How would Noa have ever handled it? Oh, Gozaburo had made sure to teach him first aid along with everything else, but would Noa have cared? Would it have shaken him up at all for someone to get hurt trying to save him? It devastated Mokuba any time it happened.

"Lector . . ." Mokuba was speaking again. "I guess this is a dumb question, but . . . did you want Noa to like you? I mean, I know you wanted him to respect you and all, and you were mad that he didn't, but . . . did you feel bad too?"

Lector paused. What a strange question.

"I can't say I ever thought about it before, Mokuba," he said honestly. "Noa was my employer's son and he was my responsibility. I don't recall ever thinking in terms of wanting to be likable. Of course, by then I had already become soured on children because of my nephews' behavior. I felt that if Noa couldn't accept me for who I was, then so be it."

"Oh. Well, I guess that was better then," Mokuba said. "If you wanted Noa to like you and then he didn't, that would be really sad."

"You have an interesting way of looking at the world, Mokuba," Lector said.

"That's good, right?" Mokuba asked.

"Yes," Lector said. "It's very good."

xxxx

Marik was impatient and edgy as he arrived at school. On the motorcycle ride over, he had unzipped the blue jacket and started to unbutton the white dress shirt underneath, even tying the edges above his middle to create one of the midriff looks he liked. Now he quickly started to untie and rebutton the shirt. The dress code for Domino High was restrictive and hardly to his liking, but he had wanted to attend that school in order to be with his friends. Ishizu and Rishid had also felt it was the best idea. But unlike Yugi, Marik always went right home to change after the school day ended. He could scarcely fathom how Yugi enjoyed the uniform enough that he almost always wore it. The only things Marik liked were the blue color and the fact that he was allowed to wear his jewelry.

Yugi and company were all arriving as well, and Marik started to walk over to them on the sidewalk.

"Oh, hi, Marik," Yugi greeted.

"Hello." Marik sighed. "It seems ridiculous to come to school when there are so many more important things to worry about right now. I've only been able to communicate with Mokuba through a few text messages last night and this morning. I know he must be extremely upset; Noa means a great deal to him."

"Well, that math test _is_ important," Tristan said. "It'll look bad on all of our grades if we don't made it. Téa and Kaiba will still have to make it up later. And I know Ishizu and Rishid want to make sure your grades stay high."

Marik grunted. Indeed, he was only here today because he wanted to please them. "I don't even think I need to come to school, really," he said. "I was tutored until I left Egypt, and even after that, Rishid tried to make sure I kept up my studies."

"So you were creating an international criminal organization while you were learning trigonometry?" Joey said. "That's a weird picture."

"Is it any weirder than Kaiba running an international corporation and still coming to math class?" Tristan quipped.

"Eh . . . probably not," Joey conceded. "That's pretty weird too."

"I suppose he wants it on his record, even though he likely knows the material," Bakura mused. "Actually, you bring up a good point. Why _does_ Kaiba attend high school? He was tutored at home as well. I'm sure he doesn't come for the social experience."

Marik sighed and rested a hand on the back of his neck. "_I_ really only come to school _for_ the social experience," he admitted. "And because Ishizu feels it will be better for my future if I have an accredited high school diploma. But it's going to be so hard to concentrate today. I wish there was more I could do for Mokuba."

"We all do," Yugi said. "Atem's working with Grampa today to try to learn something more about Noa and the accident."

"Yami is helping too," Bakura said. "Although he doesn't really see the necessity or the point, I must admit."

Marik took out his phone and looked at it. "Oh, this is ridiculous!" he fumed. "Mokuba texted me about how bizarre the store owner is acting and how bad he feels for Lector. I need to be there for him!" He shoved the phone back in his pocket.

"The test, man!" Tristan exclaimed.

"Oh, screw the test," Marik retorted. "I'll make it up later too, just like Téa and Kaiba. I'll see you all later." With that he turned and ran back to his motorcycle. Before anyone could stop him, he had jumped on and revved back out of the parking lot.

Tristan threw his hands in the air. "In some ways, he's still pretty rebellious."

"Yeah, but when it's for a friend, we can all understand that, right?" Yugi smiled.

"But now we'll have to cover for him too!" Tristan exclaimed. "How are we gonna come up with multiple excuses?!"

"We'll think of something," Yugi said firmly.

xxxx

Marik was alert and attentive as he drove to the antique mall where Mokuba had said they all still were. It wasn't long before it was obvious to him that someone was following him. Whichever street he turned to, the particular car behind him turned as well.

His eyes narrowed. Was it more trouble with the Rare Hunters? Bandit Keith was in jail and the organization was being dismantled. Lumis and Umbra were turning state's evidence in exchange for immunity. But there were no doubt some Rare Hunters still running free. Would they really risk coming out in the open to attack Marik now, though? If they had any brains at all, they should be hiding out or fleeing the country.

If it wasn't the Rare Hunters, though, then who?

Marik revved the engine harder and popped a wheelie around the next corner. "Alright," he said under his breath. "If you want to follow me, you'll just have to keep up."

He noticed to his irritation that the license plate was covered in mud. The person was either sloppy or they were taking great measures to not be found out. The tinted windows made him believe all the more that it was the latter.

Traffic was light at this time of day, which was certainly to Marik's advantage. He went at the absolute speed limit, desperately trying to shake his pursuer. He wasn't about to lead them to the antique mall. But no matter how fast he went or what tricks he pulled, this person always managed to keep up with him.

Finally he decided on a new tactic. He sped around the next corner into an alley, then turned his motorcycle around and waited. As the car followed him, he barreled right towards it and stopped in front of it. "Why are you following me?!" he demanded.

Immediately the car backed up to turn around. Not about to let it go, Marik sped forward after it.

The window started to roll down while they were still in the alley and concealed from any passers-by. Marik wasn't sure what was going to come out of the window at him, but he wasn't expecting the gun. He only barely swerved out of the way as a bullet shot past him and into the brick wall of an old bakery. By the time he righted the motorcycle and sped back to the head of the alley, the car was gone.

Swearing under his breath, Marik turned to look back at the wall. The bullet was still there, very visibly sticking out against the red bricks.

"Well, now what?" he said aloud.

His phone rang and he hurried to take it out and answer it. "Hello, Mokuba," he greeted, having recognized his friend's number. "I was just on my way to see you."

"You're skipping school?!" Mokuba exclaimed in surprise.

"In this case, yes," Marik said.

"Are you okay, Marik? You sound kind of strained."

Marik sighed. He didn't want to worry Mokuba, but the boy would have to know sooner or later about what had happened. "Someone followed me," he admitted. "I didn't want to lead them to the antique mall, so I tried to find out who they were. Eventually they tried to shoot at me."

"Marik!" Mokuba squealed.

"I'm alright; it hit the wall," Marik said. "But they were clearly trying to prevent me from finding anything out about them. Their license plate was covered with mud and their windows were tinted."

"Oh no," Mokuba whispered. "Maybe it's someone trying to stop us from investigating Noa's death."

"Have you found out anything more?!" Marik demanded.

"It's really starting to look like it wasn't an accident," Mokuba said. "And . . . it's also starting to look like they'll do anything to keep us from finding out the truth. . . ."

"There's no guarantee they were after me because of the investigation," Marik said. "It could have been a stray Rare Hunter."

"I know, but . . . it seems like too much of a coincidence," Mokuba said. "I'm really worried now, Marik. . . . I'm afraid people I love are going to keep getting hurt again. Lector's hurting emotionally, and now you're getting shot at. . . . Maybe someone will go after Seto next!"

"I'll be over there as soon as I can," Marik promised. "I guess I'll have to call the police about this. . . . And Ishizu and Rishid. . . ." He cringed. They wouldn't like that he had chosen to skip school, but they would understand. He hated, however, to make them worry. Telling Mokuba was extremely painful as it was.

"Yeah, you'll have to tell them," Mokuba said.

"You be careful yourself, Mokuba," Marik warned. "Instead of your brother, it's possible that you'll be the next one targeted. . . . If this is about Noa, that is."

"I'll be careful," Mokuba promised.

The friends hung up, each badly shaken.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

By now Lector had wandered into one of the back rooms on the main floor. The first such room held an old jukebox and many cardboard boxes of comic books. The second, which was where he was heading now, was long and narrow, with shelves of vendors' merchandise on either side. To his left were also boxes in need of sorting, such as one with old dolls.

He wasn't paying much attention to the merchandise now, as he was too lost in his thoughts. So many times Noa had disrespected him and been ungrateful for him being there. . . . Lector had tried to lock most of those memories away after Noa's death and not think on them, but they kept coming back over and over now.

Every time Lector had been with Noa, Gozaburo had wanted a full day's report the next day. Gozaburo had known of all the times when Noa had treated Lector poorly and he had also tried to get the boy to stop. But Noa had honestly believed that all employees of Gozaburo's existed to wait on him and that he wasn't doing anything wrong if he tried to assert his power over them.

It hadn't helped, Lector supposed, that most did indeed treat Noa like he was the master and catered to his every whim. Lector was the one who wouldn't bend, something that had baffled and angered Noa to no end. Lector hadn't even been brought in until Gozaburo had realized he had done wrong in treating Noa like the world waited at his feet. Lector had been a last desperate effort by Gozaburo to shape Noa into a decent human being, but the damage had already been done. Lector hadn't been able to do anything to reverse it. That, however, did little to help Lector not feel at least partially responsible for the accident, considering that he had been arguing with Noa when the boy had run away.

"Lector?"

He turned. Johnson had followed him into the room. Sometimes it was hard to tell what Johnson was thinking behind his glasses, but the light wasn't reflecting off of the lenses now. Lector could clearly see Johnson's concern.

"What is it?" Lector asked.

"You said Noa was saying a lot of things that didn't make sense after he was hit," Johnson said. "Could there be more clues amongst that?"

Lector passed a hand over his eyes and turned away, shaking his head. "I don't know."

"I know you don't want to keep thinking about what happened, but you may need to at least one more time," Johnson said. "If there's any chance Noa said something else that could point to the killer, we need to know."

"I realize that." Lector still didn't turn back to face his friend. What Noa had said. . . .

"_Lector, did you see the golden dog?"_

_Lector froze, staring at Noa. He was trying to keep the boy warm and calm while waiting for the paramedics, but he had no idea what to make of this query at all. Was Noa delirious?_

"_No, I didn't," he said, and hoped that truthful response wasn't the wrong one._

"_It was pretty . . . like the glass eye. . . ."_

"_What?!" Lector couldn't refrain from exclaiming. Now Noa was making no sense whatsoever._

"_The glass eye . . . and the . . . cane. The golden handle of the cane. . . . Gansley would like something like that, wouldn't he?"_

"_He probably would," Lector said. Where were those paramedics?!_

"_I always wanted a dog. . . . Father didn't want one in the house. . . . Pretty golden dog. . . ."_

_Lector couldn't help thinking it was ironic. All the things Gozaburo had granted to Noa, but not the dog. It would have been better for him to have had the dog than all the servants and tutors waiting on him hand and foot._

"_You shouldn't try to talk," he said at last. "Just rest. You'll be alright. . . ."_

"_I wonder what angels look like." Noa sounded far away. He was staring off into space. "Do you think I'd know one if I saw it?"_

_Lector jerked. "Noa . . . !"_

"_. . . Or would I see a demon? Will I go to Hell, Lector?"_

_By now Lector was barely managing to control himself. He didn't know how to answer or even deal with these questions. "You're not going to die!" he finally spat._

_Noa didn't seem to be listening. "Hawaiian girl," he whispered. "Back and forth. . . . Over and over. . . ."_

_Lector broke. "Oh Noa. . . ." His shoulders shook as he gripped the concrete. "What have I done? What have I __**done? . . .**__"_

By the time Lector had finished relaying what he remembered of their conversation, Johnson felt horrible that he had felt it necessary to ask. Lector was pale and trembling, his voice shaking as though he was at the point of rare tears. His eyes were lost; he was still trapped in the past.

Johnson reached out, gripping Lector's shoulders. "You're not there now, Lector," he said. "It's over. . . ." His own voice cracked. He was usually so composed, but seeing Lector crumble while telling this was decimating Johnson's control as well.

"It's not over," Lector retorted. "Every time I remember it, it's happening again!"

Johnson drew a shaking breath. "Let's try to focus on the strange things Noa said and what they could possibly mean." He stepped back and took out a small notepad. "He mentioned a glass eye. Did you meet anyone who had one?"

"No," Lector said. "It could have been one of his tutors, I suppose. I never met most of them."

"And the golden cane handle?"

"I have no idea who . . . wait." Lector frowned. "There was a businessman who came to speak with Gozaburo once. I believe he did have a golden cane handle. Noa was very young then; I remember him trying to reach for it when the man was sitting down."

". . . The angel and the demon are self-explanatory," Johnson said, wanting to hurry past that part.

Lector looked away. "Maybe Noa really knew he'd been bad. I never told him anything about angels or demons. I never felt it appropriate to try to scare small children with tales of going to Hell if they didn't shape up. We had a governess growing up who was like that, and I hated it."

Johnson sighed. "Well, that leaves the Hawaiian girl."

"That never made any sense to me and it still doesn't," Lector said.

"Let's think about it while we look for the others," Johnson suggested.

"Alright," Lector consented. He turned to walk back towards the front of the store.

Johnson trailed after him. It was too narrow in the back room to walk any way but single file, but once they returned to the jukebox room he came alongside Lector. "This place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside," he remarked.

Lector absently nodded. "It certainly is. Do you know where the others went?"

"Some of them were heading upstairs and some downstairs," Johnson said. "So we could either text them or just do things the old-fashioned way and look."

"Let's look," Lector said.

Johnson smiled a bit. "Alright."

xxxx

Téa had gone upstairs with Seto and Mokuba. The top floor was filled with rows of shelves for the antique mall vendors. Some vendors were selling jewelry or beautifully colored glassware, while others had old toys or DVDs and videos. A few were selling books. Mokuba had wandered ahead, idly looking at one vendor who was selling mint in box 12 inch G.I. Joe figures. Seto was walking, but not really looking at anything they were passing. He was occupied with his phone.

Téa looked over at him after a while. "Are you finding anything out, Kaiba?"

"Let's say I'm attempting to find something out," Seto grunted. "We need to know more about Mrs. Clarkson. That's probably the most important angle we can work with right now. The only problem is, I can't find out anything about her anywhere! She's proverbially squeaky clean."

Téa sighed. "Oh great. So what are we going to do?"

"She has a brother," Seto reported. "I'm going to try to talk to him about her. I'm getting his phone number now." He typed on the keypad.

"I hope he'll help," Téa said. She looked ahead to where Mokuba was pawing through the boxes of figures. "Do you really think Marik was attacked because of our investigation?"

"I don't know," Seto growled. "It could be a coincidence. I'm sure there are still Rare Hunters who would like to see him dead."

"I know," Téa said slowly. "But it still seems weird for it to happen right now. . . ."

"For all we know, maybe they thought that now was the perfect time to strike," Seto retorted. "Then we might think it was because of the investigation and get off on the wrong path."

"I guess that's possible," Téa frowned. "And should we really keep hanging around here? It doesn't seem like there's any more we can do here. . . ."

"At the moment, there's nothing we can really do anywhere," Seto said. "Let's see what Mrs. Clarkson's brother says." He started to dial.

Téa decided to leave Seto alone to make his phone call. She wandered over to where Mokuba was still going through the figures. "Hey, Mokuba," she greeted. "Are you having fun?"

Mokuba sighed. "I'd be having more fun if I didn't have to worry about so many people. I'm afraid everyone's going to get hurt, Téa! Lector feels so bad, and Marik could have been shot. . . . What's next?!"

"I don't know," Téa said softly. "Your brother may have found a lead that will help. . . ."

"I hope so," Mokuba said.

Téa shifted. She wanted to get Mokuba's mind on something else, but it was hard to think when there was so much chaos going on. She was worried about everyone too.

". . . So, are you thinking of buying one of these guys?" she asked.

"Maybe," Mokuba said. "See, I was thinking of getting Marik one too. I know he didn't really have a lot to even play with underground and he had to focus on his studies, like Seto did. Marik seems more able to relax and have fun than Seto can now, though . . . and I wanna make sure it stays that way."

"I think that's a really nice idea," Téa said. "I'm sure Marik would be touched."

Mokuba smiled a bit. "Marik's been a really great friend," he said. "I want to be one too."

"You are, Mokuba," Téa assured him.

Seto came back over to them. "Mrs. Clarkson's brother will meet with me," he announced.

"Alright!" Mokuba cheered. "Maybe now we'll get some answers!"

"Marik's still planning on coming over here, isn't he?" Seto asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Mokuba said.

"Then I think you should stay here and wait for him," Seto said. "I'm going to find Lector and go over there with him."

"But Seto . . . !" Mokuba protested.

"He might be more likely to talk if we don't all go," Seto said. Not to mention he didn't know what kind of a person the brother was. He hardly wanted to take Mokuba over there when there was the possibility that Mrs. Clarkson or her brother might have been responsible for running Noa down.

"I'll stay with Mokuba and wait for Marik," Téa volunteered.

"Good." Seto turned to go. "I'll let you know how it goes."

Mokuba sighed and looked down. "Okay," he said in resignation. "Be careful, Seto."

"I will be," Seto promised.

He was heading down the stairs leading to an old clothing vendor on the next floor when he met Lector and Johnson having come up from the ground floor. "Watch out for the low ceiling," Seto deadpanned.

Lector looked at it warily. He would have to duck very low to go under that. "What is this?" he said in disbelief.

"It looks like a small in-between floors level," Johnson said. "The low ceiling is only in the middle of this path. This is the only part of the store that's at this level. The top floor has a regular ceiling again."

"It looks like a children's nook," Lector grunted.

"Maybe that's what it was when the building was first constructed," Johnson suggested.

Seto ducked under the low ceiling and walked over to them. "Mrs. Clarkson's brother will see me," he said. "I'm going over right now. I don't know that we should all go, but I wondered if you wanted to come, Lector."

"Yes, I do," Lector said.

Johnson frowned. "Maybe the rest of us should come as back-up," he said in concern. "We don't know what he's like. You might need help."

"Maybe," Seto said.

In the end, that was what they decided to do. They drove to the residence in Domino Heights and the rest of the Big Five parked down the street, hopefully out of sight of their suspect.

"Make sure to text the moment anything goes wrong," Nesbitt growled at Lector.

"Hopefully nothing will," Lector said. He got out of the car and walked over to Seto.

"This man's name is Gerald Dawson," Seto told him.

Lector nodded. The name meant nothing to him, but it was good to know it in order to present himself as professionally and politely as he could.

They went up the winding walkway and up to the porch, where Seto rang the doorbell. In a moment, a gruff man with receding red hair opened the door. "Mr. Kaiba?" he greeted. "I'm Gerald Dawson. Come in."

Seto nodded and stepped into the entryway, followed closely by Lector. "This is Démas Lector, the man your sister accused last night," Seto said.

Lector nodded. "Good afternoon, Mr. Dawson."

Mr. Dawson shut the door and studied him. "Joana never mentioned you before in connection with that boy's death," he frowned. "It's strange that she would suddenly bring all this up after . . . what is it, six, seven years?"

"A long time," Lector said.

"Did your sister talk about Noa's death before at all?" Seto asked.

"I can't remember that she ever did," Mr. Dawson said. He started walking towards the open living room.

"Is there any chance that she could have been involved?" Seto persisted.

"You mean that maybe she ran the boy down?" Mr. Dawson scoffed. "Of course not!"

"Mr. Dawson, do you believe what she gave as the reason for suddenly speaking up now, that it was to protect my brother Mokuba?" Seto demanded.

"It could have been," Mr. Dawson shrugged.

"But what about telling the shop owner Mr. Thorton to not consider me innocent?" Lector spoke up. "Why would she say that to him?"

"I can't imagine," Mr. Dawson growled. "Honestly, this whole thing is bizarre. I've never known Joana to act like this before."

"So you can't think of any reason why she would choose now to make trouble, unless it is what she said?" Seto stood in the doorway to the living room, his arms folded, his gaze boring into their host's.

"That's pretty much it," Mr. Dawson said. "Either that or she's just plain flipped. It's strange, though; I've never known Joana to be a pesky neighbor."

"She's always minded her own business before," Lector admitted.

"Then I'm afraid you've wasted your time in coming out here," Mr. Dawson said. He stood with his back to both of them, staring out the window. "There's nothing more I can tell you."

Lector let his gaze travel over the room. It was nicely furnished, with glass knick-knack cases against the walls and white overstuffed furniture cozily placed for visiting. A television was mounted against the side wall, near the window.

Suddenly a splash of color on one of the shelves caught his eye. He focused on it, barely able to refrain from an exclamation.

Seto started and looked to him, his eyes silently asking what he had seen. But Lector could only nod in its general direction. It wouldn't have any significance to Seto.

"Excuse me," Lector spoke up. "Aren't those little figures usually placed on car dashboards?"

Mr. Dawson turned, seeing that Lector was pointing to a Hawaiian dancing girl in one of the cabinets. "That was my wife's," he said brusquely. "She's dead now, so I just brought it in the house."

"How did she die?" Seto asked.

"Car crash," Mr. Dawson said, his voice clipped. "Now, I can't help you and I really have to ask you both to leave."

"Very well." Lector bowed and turned to go. "Thank you for your time."

Seto waited until they were outside before speaking again. "What was that all about?" he demanded. "What's so important about that ridiculous figure?"

"Noa mentioned a Hawaiian girl after the accident," Lector told him. "I couldn't make heads or tails out of it at the time."

"You think there was a figure like that in the car that hit him?" Seto frowned. "The windows in the car Thorton saw were tinted; how could Noa have seen into it?!"

"I don't know," Lector sighed. "I wonder if he could have seen it if he was right up next to the windshield. . . ." He trailed off with a shudder. He didn't like to imagine the details of the accident.

"Or maybe it has no significance whatsoever," Seto countered. "It could have been the ramblings of a badly injured kid."

"Although actually, we don't know that the vehicle Mr. Thorton saw was the one that struck Noa," Lector said. "What if the car that hit Noa didn't have tinted windows?"

"That's possible too," Seto conceded. "But how do you explain the golden dog comment if it didn't refer to the hood ornament on the car Thorton saw?"

"Frankly, I can't explain much of anything about what happened, Mr. Kaiba." Lector's voice was starting to gain an edge. "Isn't that the whole problem?!"

"Alright, calm down," Seto ordered. "We're going to figure this out." He took out his phone. "I'll start researching Dawson's wife and what happened to her and _when_ it happened to her."

Lector looked back at the house. A shadowy figure jumped back from the white sheer curtains at the living room window. "Mr. Dawson likely wonders why we're still standing here."

"Let him wonder. We might need to go back." Seto typed quickly, then waited for the search results to load. Lector waited nervously, but he wasn't expecting Seto to suddenly stiffen and turn, storming back to the porch and pounding on the door.

Mr. Dawson threw it open in the next instant. "What is it?!" he barked.

"Your wife died the same night that Noa Kaiba was hit by a car," Seto said, holding up his phone so the article he had found could be seen. "Why was that? Did she hit him and end up fatally injured herself?"

Lector was stunned. He quickly followed Seto back to the porch.

"That's nonsense!" Mr. Dawson snarled. "It was a coincidence! It didn't even happen in the same part of town! My wife was killed here in Domino Heights!" He nodded at the phone. "You can read it right there."

"I know what it says. What I don't know is whether it's saying the truth," Seto said. "What if you were trying to cover up what your wife did so she wouldn't be remembered for hitting a small child and not stopping to help? When she died from her injuries in the crash, maybe you manipulated the evidence to make it look like she'd been in an accident in Domino Heights."

"You're speaking nonsense!" Mr. Dawson bellowed. "You're looking for a scapegoat and you're picking on my wife because of her silly figurine! Get out of here now, both of you, before I call the police on you for trespassing!"

Seto just gave him a cold look. "We'll go, but we might be back." He turned and headed down the stairs.

Lector swiftly followed him. "Do you really think that's what happened, Mr. Kaiba?!" he asked. "If I honestly thought that was the truth, I'd . . ." He clenched a fist.

"I don't know what the truth is," Seto interrupted. "But think about it. Isn't it possible that Mrs. Dawson struck Noa and was injured herself, especially if Noa did indeed fly up on the windshield? She could have hit her head. She might have not even been in her right mind from the accident and drove off because she didn't really know what she was doing. Then her husband certainly could have tried to cover it up when he realized she had been fatally injured herself. Or maybe he tried to cover it up before he realized how badly she had been hurt."

"It does sound possible," Lector had to admit. "But it still doesn't answer the question of why Mrs. Clarkson would bring things up now. What's so important about now as opposed to any other time?! And what about the car Mr. Thorton saw?!"

"That car could have belonged to Dawson," Seto said. "Maybe he went to the accident site to survey the damage."

"There wouldn't have been time for Mrs. Dawson to drive to Domino Heights, tell her husband what happened, and have him drive all the way back before the paramedics arrived," Lector said.

"Maybe her husband wasn't in Domino Heights," Seto said. "What if he was at Mrs. Clarkson's house? It wouldn't be unusual for a brother to visit his sister."

". . . That's true," Lector realized. "It could have been exactly like that. It would have only been around a five-minute drive to the accident site from there."

"As for why now, that's still something we have to figure out," Seto said. "As well as whether this is actually what happened at all."

"But just how are we going to do that, Mr. Kaiba?!" Lector demanded.

"I'm going to see if I can put a little pressure on the family courtesy of the Kaiba Corporation," Seto said. "One way or another, we're going to get to the bottom of this. And it had better be before any more innocent people are hurt."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Marik was not in a good mood by the time he arrived at the antique mall. He had opted to specifically talk to Gabrielle Valesquez about being shot at, since she knew the group and had helped them on some prior occasions. He'd had to honestly say that he didn't know why he was being shot at, since he really didn't. He had mentioned the Rare Hunters as a possibility, but hadn't known whether he was supposed to talk about the Noa case, so he had said nothing about that. Gabrielle had suspected that he was holding something back, but she couldn't prove it, so at last she and her partner had let him go.

He allowed himself a bit of curiosity as he entered the store. The sheer variety of the merchandise and its assorted ages reminded him a little of the bazaars in Egypt. It intrigued and fascinated him, he had to admit.

"Marik!"

He looked up with a start. Mokuba was on some mint-green stairs at the back of the room, beaming as he hurried down the rest of the way to his friend. Téa trailed behind him.

Marik had to smile. "Hello, both of you."

Mokuba ran up to Marik. "Did you find out anything more about the creep who shot at you?!"

"I wish," Marik sighed. "I've told the police, but I didn't mention the possibility of being attacked due to the Noa case. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to talk about that."

"I'm not sure what Kaiba wants done about that," Téa admitted. "He and the Big Five went to talk to the brother of Lector's neighbor. I hope they'll be okay. . . ."

Mokuba nodded, concern flickering in his eyes. "Well, while we're waiting, I want to show you around, Marik," he said. "This place is awesome!"

Marik smiled. "It does look interesting. Alright, let's go."

"Come upstairs first!" Mokuba said, running back to the stairs.

Marik quickly followed.

Téa smiled as she watched them go. She would leave them to have some special time without her. Meanwhile, maybe she would look at the basement. None of them had gone down there yet, and she was curious.

She slipped outside and to the next door over, which led down the steps to the basement. At the bottom, she had to stop and stare in amazement. She was standing in a huge room filled with shelves and boxes of books, and in every direction she turned, there were large archways leading to rooms with other books. One room was specifically for children's books, while another held Westerns, both fiction and non-fiction.

"Wow," she said softly. She would definitely be coming here often, and she knew of someone else who would like to see it too. Once all this madness was over, she would bring Serenity here.

For now she walked forward, curious to see the rest of the main room she was in. Every now and then she passed another customer who was browsing the shelves, and she could see at least one employee down here, settled at the counter near the children's room.

It was while she was embarking on looking for books on dancing that the hushed voices at the back of the room came to her attention. She would have promptly dismissed them again, if not for hearing one of them say "Lector." Stunned, she ducked down an aisle and pretended to look through a book while really straining to listen.

"I really don't see the purpose of any of this!" Mr. Thorton exclaimed. "Why are you so intent on hurting that poor man?"

The other voice was unfamiliar, but the bitterness and hatred in it was very recognizable. "Starting a scandal with any of those men should be enough to give them grief about the penguin sanctuary they plan on opening. When I dug into their pasts, Lector just seemed like the easier one to hit."

Téa gasped. So that was why they were doing this right now! No one had considered that angle at all. But who on Earth was it?

"I still don't understand," Mr. Thorton said. "Nor do I want to be a part of this!"

"You don't want your niece hurt either, do you?" the strange voice sneered.

"Now that's just not fair!" Mr. Thorton snapped.

"No, but that's the way it's going to be." The person suddenly shoved Mr. Thorton hard against a shelf, causing several volumes to topple off around him to the floor. Before he could recover, they were darting back towards the front of the room.

Téa peered out from behind the thick book. She could demand answers from Mr. Thorton, but right now following this person seemed more important. Mr. Thorton would be around later, while this hateful stranger was leaving and might not come back any time soon. She set the book aside and silently darted among the aisles, trying to keep the mystery person in sight. By the time they were at the top of the stairs and emerging onto the street, Téa was at the bottom and hurrying up after them.

Everything looked still when she pushed the door open and stepped onto the sidewalk. "Oh no!" she fretted. "They're gone!"

In desperation she looked up and down the street both ways and through the windows of the buildings on either side of the mall, but to no avail. The person had truly vanished.

Her shoulders slumping in discouraged resignation, Téa trudged back through the door and down the stairs. At least she could demand what answers she could from Mr. Thorton . . . although she had the bad feeling that he knew very little.

Mr. Thorton was standing in the middle of the floor when she went down again. He drew a deep breath as he straightened his shirt and tie and smoothed down his hair. He couldn't hide how shaken he was.

"Mr. Thorton?" Téa greeted.

He jumped a mile. "Oh . . . Miss Gardner. How are you enjoying things so far?"

"A lot, basically," Téa replied. "Except for the conversation I just heard between you and that weirdo who just left."

Every inch of color vanished from Mr. Thorton's face. "Y-You heard that?" he quavered. Now he reminded Téa a great deal of his brother.

"I sure did," Téa said, "and I want answers and explanations! Like, who was that person?! Was that Mrs. Clarkson?!"

"No," Mr. Thorton said. "Quite frankly, I don't know who it is. All I know is that they're threatening my niece if I don't comply, and I can't take the chance they're bluffing. Some criminals already hurt her in the past when she stumbled on something dangerous."

"Just how are you supposed to comply?" Téa frowned. "By lying about Lector?"

"I was telling the truth about what that woman said to me last night," Mr. Thorton insisted. "I'm supposed to stick to that and not ask any questions. If I had to guess, I imagine they're targeting me because of the car I saw that night? And maybe Mr. Kaiba's suggestion that they think Noa Kaiba said something to Mr. Lector that will point to them?"

"Maybe," Téa said. "But you can't trust creeps like that! They might hurt your niece anyway! Or you! Staying out of this when you might be able to help us bring them down is not a good solution!"

"Shh!" Mr. Thorton exclaimed. Everyone in hearing range was turning to look. "Miss Gardner, please!"

"Sorry, Mr. Thorton, I can't be quiet," Téa insisted. "Lector is a good man and my friend! I can't just stand by and let him be treated like this! And I don't want the Big Five's project to fail because of lies! They've worked hard on this and they're all trying to live honestly to bring it about! I have to know who's trying to sabotage them!"

"I don't know!" Mr. Thorton cried. "I can't even clearly see what they look like!"

Téa frowned. He was probably telling the truth; it had looked like the person was wearing something with a knit turtleneck collar pulled up around their face and a wide-brimmed hat hiding their eyes. She really wouldn't be surprised if the stranger had also been wearing sunglasses.

"Was this the first time you saw that person?" she asked.

"No, it wasn't," Mr. Thorton told her. "They showed up last night right after Mrs. Clarkson and insisted I listen to what she said. Then today they came because they'd seen the Big Five come here and they threatened my niece, Jessie."

"Wait, how did they see the Big Five come here?" Téa wondered. "Were they spying?"

"They didn't say," Mr. Thorton said with a helpless shrug. "They could be spying, or maybe they're working in one of the nearby establishments and happened to look over here at just the right time."

Téa looked to the employee who was typing away on the computer and pretending not to listen to them. "Or maybe they have someone here who's spying for them," she suggested.

Mr. Thorton started. "One of my employees? I don't want to believe that."

"Of course not, but you have to consider the possibility," Téa pleaded. "We've got to get to the bottom of this!"

Finally Mr. Thorton heaved a sigh. "Alright. I'll try to cooperate. What should I do?"

"Make a list of all your employees and try to think if any of them have acted weird lately," Téa said. "That should be good for a start."

Mr. Thorton nodded. "I'll do it."

Téa smiled. "Great! How about we go upstairs and you can start working on that?"

The man huffed. "You don't waste any time, do you?"

"Not when my friends' happiness is at stake," Téa replied.

xxxx

The Big Five were all baffled on the ride back to the antique mall.

"So you're thinking now that some lady ran Noa down, got hurt herself in the accident, drove off in a daze, and her husband covered everything up?" Crump frowned.

"Mr. Kaiba is considering it," Lector said. "I don't know what to think."

"You know, one thing we haven't thought about at all," Gansley spoke up. "What about Gozaburo's ex-wife?"

Everyone started. Indeed, she hadn't been on their minds in the least.

"You think she'd know something?" Nesbitt frowned. "She just divorced Gozaburo and took off for parts unknown when Noa was killed."

"I know," Gansley said. "She probably doesn't know anything about who might have wanted to see Noa dead. But it wouldn't be very professional or thorough to overlook her."

"You're right, of course," Lector said. "But I'm not even sure where she is."

"Mr. Kaiba could probably find her, with his resources," Gansley said.

Lector's phone dinged and he pulled it out to look at it. "Miss Gardner just heard some mysterious person talking to Mr. Thorton," he announced, stunned as he scrolled through the rest of the message's contents. "Apparently this person is out to ruin all of us and hoped to create a scandal by making me seem guilty!"

Everyone looked to him in shock.

"Someone's out to ruin us again?!" Johnson exclaimed. "You don't suppose it's Scarlet?"

"I would think she would have learned her lesson when she tried to have us all killed last December," Lector retorted. "Miss Gardner has no idea who it was or whether it was even a man or a woman. Mr. Thorton doesn't know either."

Nesbitt snarled. "So someone wants to mess up Penguin World or something?"

"It would seem so," Lector said. He sank back into the seat. "I feel terrible that I'm being used as the catalyst for this. . . ."

"Oh Lector, it's not your fault," Crump protested. "Apparently they would have used any of us equally."

"And there's still the question of how they knew they could potentially try to cause a scandal by falsely accusing Lector of murdering Noa," Gansley said. "How did they know the details of that night enough to know it could work?"

"If Mrs. Clarkson isn't the mastermind, she must be working with them," Johnson said.

"And why would she agree?!" Lector exclaimed. "She's never acted like she had anything against me before!"

"Maybe Mr. Kaiba's theory actually is true and she's trying to cover up the truth about her sister-in-law's death?" Gansley suggested.

"But if the poor woman was hurt herself and didn't know what she was doing, what kind of scandal is that?" Lector frowned.

"The scandal could be her husband trying to cover it up," Johnson said. "Especially if he'd go so far as to commit new crimes to hide the truth."

"Which we don't know that he would," Gansley said.

"This is getting us nowhere," Nesbitt growled. "We need to take action!"

"On whom?" Gansley grunted. "We don't have enough facts yet, Nesbitt! We don't know whom to go after!"

"Well, maybe if we threatened Mrs. Clarkson long enough, she'd spill the truth about who she's working with," Nesbitt said.

"Oh great," Crump said with dripping sarcasm. "So then we could go to jail for threatening her and she and her buddies could get off scot-free."

Nesbitt snarled. He knew that was probably what would happen, although it didn't seem fair at all to him that they weren't allowed to fight back. "And are you going to say we deserve this after everything we did in the past?" He looked to Johnson. "I wish we could take it all back, but we can't! All we can do is try to move forward as better people! Only we can't if people won't let us!"

"I don't know what we deserve," Johnson admitted. "I know I think that I personally probably deserve to keep being punished, but as far as all of us collectively, no. Then Lector suffers too."

"I would suffer if only one of you was suffering," Lector said.

"For that matter, we all would," Gansley pointed out. "They can't punish one of us without punishing all of us. We're all suffering because of what they're doing to you."

"I know," Lector said, humbled and touched.

The limousine pulled up in front of the antique mall. Seto's did as well. In the next instant Seto was getting out and striding into the store with purpose.

"I guess he got the text too," Crump said.

They all followed him inside. Mr. Thorton was at the counter, shuffling through print-outs and looking very indecisive. Téa was leaning on the counter watching him.

"It's no use," Mr. Thorton complained. "I can't come up with any strange behavior exhibited by any of my employees!"

"Then just the list is enough," Téa said. "Kaiba can run checks on them and hopefully find something, if there's anything to find."

"Well . . . then here!" Mr. Thorton shoved the print-outs at Seto as he approached.

Seto took them without batting an eye. "I'll let you know what I find out." He looked to Téa. "Is Mokuba ready to go?"

"I think he and Marik are still upstairs," Téa realized.

Seto nodded and headed for the stairs.

xxxx

Marik was indeed very touched by Mokuba's gift, and they had been having fun exploring all over the top level's vendors. Having finally exhausted that, they were heading down the stairs when Mokuba noticed something else of interest. "Hey, what's this?" He stopped on the landing in the middle of the stairs, where more shelves had been placed. Just to the left of one bookcase was a door standing ajar. A paper reading KEEP OUT had been taped to it.

Marik raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure that wasn't open before."

"It doesn't look like it even opens more than this unless you move the bookcase." Undeniably curious, Mokuba peered through the crack. The room looked completely unfurnished, with several two by fours leaning against the wall. But it was impossible to tell what the entire room was like. Mokuba was a good kid, but he couldn't help wishing he could just wiggle through the door and see the rest of the room. It seemed so strange to see such a bare room in a place where all the other rooms were decorated so amazing.

"I'm wondering who opened the door," Marik said. "I can't believe we didn't notice it before."

"Yeah, that's really weird," Mokuba frowned. "Oh well. It's not like anybody could fit in there." He stepped back. "We'd better go on down."

That was when Seto reached them. "What's going on?" he asked.

They both jumped.

"Oh hi, Seto!" Mokuba greeted. "We were just wondering about this room." He gestured at it.

Seto only gave it a cursory glance. "I need to do some research," he said. "We need to go."

"I could stay on with Mokuba and bring him home," Marik offered.

Seto nodded. "Ordinarily that would be fine, but I don't want you hanging around here after what happened. Someone threatened Thorton in the basement. Apparently this is all a plot to ruin the Big Five, and I don't trust that they won't think of using Mokuba against Lector as part of it."

"Oh no!" Mokuba exclaimed. "That's awful that some creep is trying to do that!"

Marik frowned deeply. "We can come back some other time," he agreed. "We'd better go, Mokuba. We can play at your house."

Mokuba clenched his fists. "We need to get to the bottom of this right away." He knew Seto and Marik would never agree, but now he wished all the more that he could stay on and try to help from here. If he could only catch a glimpse of whoever had talked to Mr. Thorton, provided they came back . . . !

"Let's go," Seto said firmly. He turned to head back down the stairs.

Mokuba hesitated more but finally nodded. "Okay." Another plan was starting to form in his mind as he headed down with Seto and Marik. It might be just as good . . . if he could get the other person to agree to help.

xxxx

Alister was half-idly loading ingredients in the blender to make a strawberry smoothie when his phone rang. He pulled it out with one hand while still picking up strawberries with the other. "Hello, Mokuba," he greeted. Mokuba contacted him now and then, so it wasn't a complete surprise to hear from him now. He _was_ surprised, however, to hear how worried the kid sounded.

"Hi, Alister. . . . Um, I know you probably won't like this, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor. . . ."

Alister raised an eyebrow. "I can try. What do you need?"

"Well . . . it's kind of a long story. . . ." Mokuba started to explain.

Alister listened as he finished loading the blender and put the lid down. As he turned the machine on, he stepped away to continue the conversation.

"So let me see if I've got this straight," he said at last. "Someone's trying to hurt the Big Five again and they've been seen at this Thorton Books and Antique Mall. You want me to go undercover there and try to spot them coming back and find out something about who they are."

"Yeah," Mokuba said softly. "I know you don't like the Big Five, but they're not even working with war stuff now, and Lector didn't do anything wrong like these creeps are trying to say! None of them deserve this. And Marik got shot at! I'm sure it has something to do with this!"

Alister sighed but finally smiled a bit. "Lector's lucky to have a friend like you, Mokuba."

"So you'll do it?" Mokuba hopefully asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it," Alister said. "I'll come up with a disguise so good, even Valon won't be able to tell it's me."

Mokuba giggled. "Thanks a lot, Alister. Be careful!"

"I will." Alister hung up and thoughtfully poured some of the blender's contents into a glass.

Valon wandered in as Alister started to drink. "Hey, Alister." He grabbed a glass and poured some of the rest of the smoothie into it from the blender. "What's up?"

"I have to go out," Alister said vaguely.

"Yeah? Why?" Valon frowned.

"Work." It was kind of true and kind of not. After all, Alister did act for a living part of the time. Any occasion where he was dressing up, he was furthering and practicing his craft. And he really didn't want to tell Valon what he was actually going to do. Valon would either get bent out of shape and not want him to go, or he would try to join in and probably make a mess of it. Valon was not good at acting.

Valon rolled his eyes. He was growing used to Alister's vagueness, although he still didn't like it. "How long will you be gone?"

"Probably not past seven." Alister knew the store closed around six.

"Okay." Valon wandered back out of the room.

Alister finished his smoothie and put the remainder in the fridge in the blender. Raphael could have it, if he wanted. Or Valon could have another helping. He needed to go upstairs and decide on what he was going to wear and what kind of character he would be playing.

It didn't take him long to make his decisions. Most clothes he put on right then, but hid under his coat. He would pretend to be a college student looking for books on his major. He stuffed some fake glasses in a pocket and turned to go.

He almost ran into Raphael in the hall outside his room. "Valon says you're going out," the older man grunted.

"That's right." Alister hesitated. He wasn't stupid; if anything did possibly go wrong, it would be good if someone knew the truth besides Mokuba. He had hesitated to tell Valon, but telling Raphael made sense to him. Although if Valon learned of it later, he would feel hurt and angry and it would probably lead to another argument.

Raphael gave him a hard look. "It's not work, is it."

Alister sighed. He should have known Raphael would see through that. "In a way it is. I'm doing a favor for Mokuba. If I'm not back by seven, the place where I'm going is Thorton Books and Antique Mall."

"And it's dangerous," Raphael supplied.

"I hope not. I probably won't be found out." Alister turned, heading down the stairs.

Raphael sighed as he watched his friend leave. He respected Alister's need to do this, but he would certainly stay alert in case Alister didn't make it back in time. And he had also better brace himself in case this led to more trouble between Alister and Valon later.

He bent down, picking up his Ragdoll cat Liu. He slowly petted the purring cat as the front door quietly shut downstairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The Big Five returned to the Kaiba Manor with the rest of the group and were allowed downstairs with Téa while Seto was working. Looking up information on Mr. Thorton's employees got them almost nowhere, as none had a record or associated with any of the people involved in the case. So Seto soon switched to Gansley's idea of looking for Gozaburo's ex-wife.

"According to my information, she still lives here in Domino City," the supercomputer announced. "This is her last known address." Several lines typed out across the screen.

For most of the group, the address meant nothing. But as soon as Johnson saw it, he went pale. "_That's_ where she lives?!" he cried.

"It's the last known address," the supercomputer repeated, sounding slightly irritated. "Why? What's the trouble?"

Johnson turned away. "That's . . . the same street where my parents live," he rasped. "In fact, it's right next-door!"

Crump cringed. "Oh boy."

Téa raised an eyebrow. "That's a problem?"

"It is considering I abandoned my parents years ago to strike out and make my fortune," Johnson moaned. "I thought they were too simple-minded and I wanted a bigger and better life. I've never contacted them since!"

"Well, there's nothing that says you have to come with me when I talk to her," Seto grunted.

"No, but she won't know you," Lector pointed out. "She might be more willing to talk if at least one of us is there. But I should be the one to go. Johnson wouldn't have to."

Johnson drew a shaking breath. "I've needed to try to see them for years and haven't had the strength. But . . . I've wanted to see them, especially ever since Gansley's son came back and Gansley welcomed him. . . . I just . . . don't know how they could ever forgive me. In Gansley's case, his son was just a boy when he was taken away. But I was an adult and I willingly left."

Gansley sighed. "I honestly don't believe they would reject you," he said.

"Only after what Lector's family did to him, can we trust that anything is the way it should be?" Johnson worried.

Lector flinched. "I'm sure my family is an isolated case. Surely you don't believe your parents would ever really act like my father!"

"No . . . not really," Johnson said. "But I can't help but worry. . . ." He looked away. "In any case, I don't feel worthy to see them again. . . ."

"It should be your decision, Johnson," Gansley said. "You shouldn't go until you're ready. Let Lector go with Mr. Kaiba. Don't worry about going with them."

"Only what if we need to be back-up again?" Nesbitt growled. "We don't know how the ex-Mrs. Kaiba will react to any of this."

"Then we can wait in the car, as before," Gansley said.

Seto got up. "I'm going to see her right now. You can go home or come with me."

"I'm coming," Téa declared.

Johnson sighed. "We'll all come. I guess I'll decide what to do about my parents when we get there, although it's not a very ideal time for a reunion. . . ."

"On the other hand, since you don't know what's going to happen to any of you in the future, the present might be the only time for a reunion, if you want it," Seto bluntly replied as he headed up the stairs.

"Oh well, gee, thanks for telling us we're all gonna die," Crump retorted.

Gansley sighed. Seto did have a point, but he didn't want Johnson to feel pushed into anything. He could see how badly this was distressing his friend, to have it thrust on him all of a sudden, without warning.

Marik and Mokuba were in the living room when they came upstairs, playing with the G.I. Joes on a table. They both looked up with a start. "Did you find out anything, Seto?!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"Thorton's employees seem to be clean," Seto said. "Gansley had the thought that we should talk to Gozaburo's ex-wife, so I found her address and we're going there now. I want you to stay in the house, Mokuba."

Mokuba sighed but nodded. "Okay. . . ."

"Good luck," Marik said in concern.

"We'll probably need it," Téa said.

xxxx

The street in question was in a pleasant middle-class neighborhood, with well-kempt homes and large trees shading the sidewalks and road. Seto's limousine—which they had all taken this time—pulled up in front of the house they needed to visit. Johnson stared at the home next to it with longing and sadness.

Lector looked to him. "Do you know yet what you want to do?"

Johnson shook his head. "I think we should focus on what we came here to do first and foremost. Then I'll think about what I should do."

"Alright." Lector laid a hand on his shoulder before climbing out of the car and going over to Seto and Téa, who had already exited.

"She's gone back to using her maiden name Anderson," Seto said.

Lector nodded. He had assumed she would, rather than taking on a false name.

Seto led them up the steps and onto the porch. But before he could ring the doorbell, the door flew wide. "Noa?!" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed with a gasp.

Lector felt horrible. Despite the similarity in the boys' hairstyles, he had never thought they might receive that kind of heart-rending greeting. "No," he said quietly, stepping forward. "This is Seto."

"Oh." She turned away, her eyes shielded by the shadows in the house. "Of course. I'm sorry." She drew a shaking breath before looking back at them. "I wondered if you'd ever come to see me, Seto."

Seto usually had words for every type of situation, but at the moment he found himself at a loss. "You did?" he said at last.

She nodded. "Out of curiosity, maybe, or even to see someone else who was almost-family. But I guess I wasn't, really, after the divorce." She gave a dark smile. "And I never really wanted to see you in the past. I was angry enough at Gozaburo for replacing Noa so soon, and then when I saw the resemblance you bore to our son . . . well, that made it even worse." She stepped away from the door and held it open. "But I've dealt with those demons and I've honestly wanted to meet you. Of course, I see you on the news often, but that's not the same thing."

"I wish I could say this is a social call, but I'm afraid it isn't," Lector said.

"I figured that out too," Mrs. Anderson said. "I'm sure only some kind of serious situation could make you seek me out." She gestured inside. "So come inside and we'll talk about it."

The trio trouped inside and Mrs. Anderson shut the door after them. But for a moment they stood awkwardly and silently in the entryway, trying to think what to do next.

Lector now found he didn't know how to proceed. How could he dig up all the pain and agony this poor woman had been struggling to put behind her? No matter how much she thought she had dealt with it, having to hear what was happening now was going to bring the heartbreak to the surface again. Lector had been struggling with that himself. For Noa's mother, it would be infinitely worse.

It didn't take Seto long to determine that Lector was at a loss. But before he could start the conversation himself, Mrs. Anderson looked to Téa and said, "I know Lector and Seto, but I've never seen you before. Are you Seto's girlfriend?"

Téa went absolutely beet-red and Seto went stiff. "What?!" Téa exclaimed. "Oh . . . no, Mrs. Anderson, I'm his friend. And Lector's friend too."

Mrs. Anderson just nodded. "That's good. Friendship is often tossed to the side these days instead of valued like it should be. Well, let's get on with it, shall we?" She stepped into the living room and sat down.

Everyone else sat as well.

"The problem is that some unknown person is using your son's death to generate a great deal of heartache for Lector and his friends," Seto spoke up now. "His neighbor accused him of running Noa down on purpose, and someone else admitted to a witness that they're deliberately trying to ruin all of the Big Five because they're trying to open a penguin sanctuary."

Lector nodded. "I am so sorry about this. Because of what my neighbor said, we started wondering if someone really might have . . . hit Noa on purpose. . . ." He bowed his head. "And we wondered if you could think of anyone who would."

To all of their surprise, Mrs. Anderson sighed and shook her head. "Don't you think I've tried and tried to think if anyone could have done it on purpose? When the culprit was never caught, one's mind starts wandering to all sorts of possibilities. The simple answer is, I don't know. You don't know what I'd give just to finally _know_ why my son died and who did it! It could have been anyone who hated Gozaburo. That list is too long to even begin to put together."

"You don't seem surprised at all about the Big Five being targeted," Seto remarked.

"People in business are always targeted," Mrs. Anderson said. "You yourself have many enemies, don't you?"

Seto couldn't deny that. "Yes. . . ."

"And at the time, Lector was investigated by the police. He had to be, since he was the first on the scene and his car was damaged. But he was cleared." Mrs. Anderson straightened.

Lector slowly looked up at her. "You don't really believe I ever could have done such a thing?!"

"I know you never liked Noa, although that was understandable from the way he treated you," Mrs. Anderson said. "But no, Lector, I don't believe you're capable of killing a small child in cold blood, no matter how he treated you. You're a good man, and I'm sorry that someone has the audacity to accuse you of being such a vile person. I'm also sorry that I have no idea who could be behind this."

Lector sighed. "I'm sorry too. But thank you for your time." He started to get up.

Seto and Téa did as well. "You'll let us know if anything comes to you," Seto half-requested, half-ordered.

"I will." Mrs. Anderson walked with them to the door. "By the way, Lector, Mr. Johnson's parents have been asking me about him."

Now Lector started in surprise. "They have?"

"I'm sure he's told you they live next-door to me." She gave him a pleading look. "Please encourage him to see them. I know he must be ashamed and disgraced if he's truly changed as I've heard, but I promise you that there is nothing a child could do that could make his parents hate him and never want to see him again."

Pain filled Lector's eyes. "If only that were true of all parents."

"All _true_ parents," Mrs. Anderson emphasized. "And I promise you they are true."

"I'll tell him," Lector said.

Neither Seto nor Téa were sure what to think as they headed down the walkway moments later.

"The nerve of her to talk about parents!" Téa exclaimed. "She had to have heard about your father on the news, Lector!"

"It's possible she didn't," Lector said.

"Well, then she should have asked you or something. I know she didn't miss the look on your face!" Téa frowned. "I don't know that she doesn't blame you and want to see you hurt!"

"I don't either," Seto said. "I wasn't expecting her reactions to our news at all."

"You're both being too hard on her," Lector said. "Grief takes many forms."

Téa scowled. "I know that, but still . . . !"

Johnson got out of the limousine before they had quite approached. "What happened?" he asked.

Lector sighed. "Let's get back in the car and we'll talk."

None of the rest of the Big Five knew what to make of the former Mrs. Kaiba either. Nesbitt, of course, didn't feel very sympathetic, while Gansley was more understanding and Crump liked that she still thought about and cared about her son. Johnson was neutral, and upon Lector delivering her message to him, he was humbled and hopeful for a reconciliation.

"I don't know if this is the right time to try," he said regardless. "We've got so many things to worry about right now. . . ."

"It's up to you," Gansley said. "We won't try to push you either way."

Johnson sighed and looked to the house next-door. "It looks like they're home," he said slowly. "If they saw me when I got out of the car, they'll probably wonder why I don't come. . . ."

"If they saw you, they could easily come down to you," Nesbitt grunted.

"They probably want me to come to them so they know I really want to see them," Johnson said. "And I do, but . . ." He sighed and shook his head. "I really wish we could take care of this problem first, so I could enjoy seeing them more. . . ."

"Then let's just go," Seto grunted.

"Go where, though?" Téa wondered. "What have we really accomplished? We're kind of at a dead end. . . ."

"I know." Seto looked to Lector. "I say the next step is to follow up on all of Gozaburo's other enemies that he investigated."

"And maybe you should contact that von Schroeder guy again," Crump suggested.

"If he has anything to report and wants to report it, he'll check in," Seto said. "But I still don't know that I trust him."

"I want to believe he'll do the right thing," Téa said softly.

"Yeah, but who knows if he will," Seto grunted. He knocked on the window for the chauffeur to drive them away.

No one protested, but Johnson looked back longingly at his childhood home as they drove past.

"Are you sure about this?" Gansley asked.

"Yes," Johnson said. "But . . . maybe when we get back to our own vehicle, I'll turn around and come back. . . ."

"We'll all come with you, if you want," Lector said.

"I would like that," Johnson said. He felt uncomfortable for Seto to be along, and Téa too, to a certain extent, but he wanted the rest of the Big Five there. They would give him the strength he needed, but also, he wanted to introduce them to his parents.

"Then we'll be there," Gansley said, and Nesbitt and Crump nodded.

xxxx

Everything seemed quiet and peaceful when Alister stepped into Thorton Books and Antique Mall, dressed like a brown-haired, bespectacled college student who liked to dress preppy. It was very possible that nothing more would even happen today, but he would linger until the store closed just in case.

"Oh hello," Mr. Thorton greeted him when he neared the back of the room. Despite his friendly words, he looked worried and leery. "Can I help you find anything?"

"I'm looking for books about architecture," Alister said. "It's my major in college."

"Well, I'm sure we have something," Mr. Thorton said. "A lot of the books are downstairs, but there's also some in that red room to your left."

"I'll start there. Thanks." Alister turned and went into the room with red walls and carpet. Shelves filled largely with books and sometimes with audiobooks or CDS stretched from here to the other end of the room, where the stairs led up to the small clothing nook. To the left of the stairs was an alcove with other clothes as well as glassware. The books in this room were the only new ones in the store; the rest were all used.

Most of the books in the red room seemed to be of a religious nature, but to that end Alister found several on the architecture of churches and other holy places. He picked up one heavy one and started to look through it while trying to keep an ear out for any unwanted visitors in the main room. All was quiet, and by the time Alister set that book down and picked up another to continue the charade, it had continued to be peaceful long enough that the store would be closing soon.

Alister frowned to himself. Maybe nothing more was going to happen tonight. Or if it was, maybe the next time the person showed up would be at Mr. Thorton's home or someplace else where Alister couldn't follow without looking suspicious.

The telephone abruptly rang, startling Mr. Thorton so much that he dropped several card packs on the counter. Sighing, he picked up the receiver. "Thorton Books and Antique Mall. . . . Oh hello, Betty. . . . What?! They came to see you?!"

Alister perked up. What was this?

"That does sound like it must have been a shock," Mr. Thorton continued. ". . . Oh. Why are you asking me if I know who would be accusing Mr. Lector?!"

Alister almost dropped the book. This was definitely important. He tried to quietly move closer to the doorway while holding up the book, as if seeking better light to read. At the same time, he also hit the Record button in the recording app on his phone.

"You think the witness they mentioned was me?!" Mr. Thorton sounded horrified. "No! I didn't see anything! . . . Of course I'd tell you if I did! This is all ridiculous! . . . Yes. Goodbye, Betty." He hung up and groaned. In the next instant, he was picking up the phone and dialing.

Alister cursed that he wasn't close enough to see what numbers were being pressed. But at least he was still recording; the phone was resting on the open pages of the book he was holding.

"Hello?! I know you said not to call you unless it's an emergency, but does the former Mrs. Kaiba calling me qualify?! She thinks I'm the witness! I don't know that what I saw was important, but why does she think I saw anything at all?! And exactly how far are you planning to take your cruel plot anyway?!"

Alister frowned, moving ever closer to the doorway. It would be hard to conceal his presence if he stood right there, so he pressed himself against the wall next to the doorway and tried to look casual, like he was just leaning against it for support.

"Frankly, I think this whole thing is outrageous," Mr. Thorton fumed. "If you wanted to torment those men, why did you have to drag this crime into it?! Don't you realize how stupid that is? Now they're all trying to investigate the crime! If you were hoping to conceal the truth about it, it won't be concealed for much longer!"

Alister started. That was true; it didn't make sense. Was it possible that there were two plots going on? What if the person trying to hurt the Big Five really didn't know who killed Noa and was only using the case because they thought that would be especially juicy and cruel? Then the person who really had run Noa down must be getting panicky with all the investigating going on. They might end up doing something rash and horrible to try to put a stop to it. Alister was sure that Seto had already considered that Mokuba might be in danger, but he wasn't sure anyone had put together yet that there could be two separate plot threads and enemies coming from two different directions.

"I really don't like being a party to any of this!" Mr. Thorton fumed. "What if I just take my niece and get out of here? What do you think of that?!"

That was probably not a good thing to threaten to do. These antagonists wouldn't take kindly to it, Alister was sure.

"Your plan will backfire! We won't be around and you won't have any way to harm us! What do you think of that?!" Mr. Thorton stiffened in the next instant. ". . . My brother? You'll target him if we try to leave?! . . . What if I take him with us?!"

Whoever this was obviously didn't care how many people were harmed, just as long as the Big Five suffered too. Alister shuddered. This was starting to sound very familiar. Who could hate those men that much?

He probably would have in the past, especially under the Orichalcos's corruption. He had thought Nesbitt had been with Gozaburo when the tanks had come and destroyed the refugee camp . . . and Miruko. . . . But Gozaburo had really been Dartz in disguise, so Nesbitt had either been someone else in disguise or an illusion altogether. Alister still hadn't liked the Big Five just on principle, but he knew he couldn't make it his personal crusade to get rid of every single person who believed in war or who had ruthless business practices. And as Mokuba had pointed out, they were trying to live honestly now—plus, the penguin sanctuary was something good and peaceful, nothing that Alister would be upset about. Alister wouldn't harm them, even though he wasn't crazy about them.

Maybe whoever this was really had been hurt by KaibaCorp in the past, when it had been a weapons manufacturer. Or maybe it was just someone who had been fired, but in that case, surely they would focus on whoever had fired them instead of figuring getting any one of the Big Five was equally good for their plans.

"Fine!" Mr. Thorton finally boomed. "We won't leave!" He slammed the phone down and slumped over the counter, digging his hands into his hair as he whimpered. "What am I going to do?"

Alister debated with himself. Should he reveal his identity now and try to get the phone number from Mr. Thorton? Seto could find out who it belonged to. But on the other hand, what if he revealed himself right now and the bad guy he was supposed to be spying on was watching and saw? Maybe he should just text Mokuba about this development and Seto could demand answers about the number once Mr. Thorton was home. Seto would likely have to admit that someone had overheard the phone calls, but it wouldn't be necessarily obvious who it was.

Then again, what if something happened to Mr. Thorton once he left here? It really all depended on who was behind this and how badly they wanted Mr. Thorton to be involved. Maybe they would end up thinking that he was dangerous and might reveal something they didn't want getting out, so they would kill him.

Making up his mind, Alister took his phone, closed the book, and stepped out. "What was the number you just called?" he demanded.

Mr. Thorton jumped a mile. "Now see here! What business is it of yours?!" he snapped.

"I'm not really a college student," Alister told him. "Mokuba Kaiba asked me to come here and watch in case the person threatening you came back."

Mr. Thorton snorted. "Well, be that as it may, I can't give you the phone number! They'll kill my niece! Or my brother Burt!"

"Or all of you, if they decide you're too much of a liability," Alister said. "Wise up! We need to catch these people, not go along with them! And I'm sure if you don't give me the phone number quietly, Kaiba can force a court order to look at your telephone records."

Mr. Thorton flinched. "You can't even prove there was a telephone conversation!"

"Oh yes I can." Alister held up his phone and pressed the Play button. The recording he had made of the phone calls filled the room. In horror Mr. Thorton grabbed for the phone, but Alister held it out of his reach and hit Stop.

"You really recorded it all?" Mr. Thorton moaned.

"Your side only, of course," Alister said. "If you help us, we'll have a better chance of bringing these people down before anyone else gets hurt!"

Mr. Thorton swallowed hard. At last he grabbed a piece of paper under the counter and scribbled something on it. At the same time, he said aloud, "I'm sorry, I can't help you."

Alister took the paper and glanced at the phone number on it. "Fine," he said. "We'll find out regardless." Hopefully no one was listening, but if they were, they should be fooled into thinking that Mr. Thorton was immovable. That might buy him and his family more time while Seto checked out the phone number. Alister texted Mokuba and typed the number in, along with a brief message requesting Seto to look it up.

"You're going to leave now, I hope," Mr. Thorton said.

"Yes. Don't worry." Alister walked out of the store in full view of anyone watching and disappeared into a restaurant across the street. After quickly ducking into the restroom, he walked out of the back exit dressed like his normal self, with his real hair showing instead of the simple brown wig he had used moments earlier. Now he would go back to the store and try to casually watch over Mr. Thorton until more information or help arrived.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes: I'm going with the original Japanese version of how Noa punished the Big Five. Both versions are troubling, but it's especially unsettling when you realize that in the dub Noa imprisoned them and then left them to die even after he had a change of heart!**

**Chapter Nine**

Yugi breathed a sigh of relief as he and the other boys left the Domino High school building that afternoon.

"Wow, what a day," he said. "And judging from the texts Téa's been sending off and on, it's really been hectic for everyone else too."

"So what now, Yug?" Joey demanded. "How do we get involved in the action?!"

"I'm not sure," Yugi said. "I guess the best option would be to go to Kaiba's place? That's where they were going last, after seeing Gozaburo's ex-wife."

"Works for me," Joey said.

"We need to see how Yami and Atem have been managing with trying to find information, too," Bakura spoke up.

"My guess is they probably haven't found anything," Tristan said. "Atem would have let you know. Right, Yugi?"

"I'm sure he would have," Yugi agreed. ". . . Unless he and Grampa wanted me to focus on school. . . . Let's stop at the Game Shop first, okay?"

"Works for me," Duke shrugged. "I'm taking my car. Do you guys want a ride?"

"I think we'll walk," Yugi smiled, "but thanks, Duke. Will you be coming with us to Kaiba's?"

"Maybe," Duke said. "I should see what's happening at my store first."

"Oh yeah, especially when you've got those ex-Rare Hunters working for you now," Joey remarked. "Is that still working out okay?"

"So far," Duke said. "We started getting a lot of extra business after the tag duel with Lumis and Umbra and Yugi and Atem was televised. I think Lumis and Umbra are enjoying the attention they're getting when people want to duel. Now if I could just get them to stop playing Rock Paper Scissors when they're trying to figure out who should perform a particular shelving or inventory task," he muttered.

Tristan snarked. "Good luck with that."

Everyone bade Goodbye to Duke and headed off the school grounds. Yugi stared into the distance with a sad sigh.

"What is it, Yug?" Joey frowned.

"I'm just thinking about this mystery again," Yugi said. "It's awful to think that maybe Noa was murdered. And even if he wasn't, it's horrible that someone is using something like his death to torture the Big Five. It feels like . . . like Noa can't be allowed to rest in peace, even now."

"Yeah." Joey gazed off at the sky now too. "That is pretty crummy. I mean, who uses the death of a kid to manipulate people?! Who _does_ that?!" His eyes darkened. "They're gonna regret it when Joey Wheeler gets a hold of them!"

"You'll probably have to fight Nesbitt off if you want first crack at them," Tristan remarked. "That guy must be on fire, especially with Lector being treated the way he is by these creeps."

"You're right, Tristan. But they'll have to deal with both of us!" Joey clenched a fist in the air.

"I wonder if Noa was finally alright with dying and going on to the afterlife," Bakura mused. "It can't be easy to accept that your life was stolen so long before it should have ended." Sadness flickered in his eyes. He was no doubt thinking of his mother and his sister again.

"I hope he's happy," Yugi said. "I'm sure he's upset about what's going on right now, though."

"You really think he'd care if the Big Five are being tortured?" Tristan frowned.

"If he truly changed—and we know he did—I think he'd have to care," Yugi said.

Tristan looked away. "I guess that's true. It's hard to forget how he hated them, and all of us. But he saved us in the end. He couldn't do anything for the Big Five because he'd already kicked them out of the virtual world."

"It's good that they weren't there when everything fell apart," Bakura commented.

"Except that Noa apparently thought he was deleting them from existence altogether," Tristan said. "That's messed-up. I just wonder if he ever regretted that."

"I'm sure he did," Yugi said. "And I'm sure he was happy to know later that they were alright. Actually, weirdly enough, he kind of did them a favor, since they ended up back in the real world."

"Although they still couldn't re-enter their bodies at that point," Bakura remembered. "I wonder why that was."

"Who knows. Probably just another of those mysterious supernatural things that's supposed to make sense but really doesn't," Tristan said in irritation. "And that we'll never know the answer to."

Yugi sighed, but he couldn't really blame Tristan for his frustrations. "Well, in any case, I'm afraid the solution to this mystery has nothing to do with the supernatural. And hopefully we _will_ know the answer to it."

"You said it," Joey said. He gave Tristan a look. "Are you okay, Tristan? You seem kind of out of sorts today."

Tristan sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm getting fed up with all the problems and all the things from our pasts coming back to haunt us, like with Noa. I appreciate that he ended up not killing us and all, but for me it's still hard to forgive everything he did. Maybe because with him it's not like we got to see him continue to be better and try to make up for things, like we have with Marik and Yami Bakura and the Big Five, and even Lumis and Umbra." He shoved his hands in his pockets. "But I know that's not fair, because Noa would have loved to come back with us. He sacrificed everything he longed for to save us and protect us."

"That's true," Yugi said. "And I think we owe it to him to find out the truth about his death."

"So we're going to," Joey vowed with a smile. "Everything's gonna work out, Yug. You'll see."

Yugi certainly hoped Joey was right.

xxxx

Seto's group had arrived back at Kaiba Manor by the time Alister texted Mokuba with the phone number. Mokuba immediately leaped up from the table. "Seto!"

Seto jumped. "What is it?!"

"Well . . . don't be mad, but I asked Alister to go hang out at Mr. Thorton's place in disguise in case that creep came back," Mokuba said. "He heard Mr. Thorton make a weird phone call and he got Mr. Thorton to give him the number." He held up the phone.

"You think fast, kid," Crump chuckled.

Seto stared at the message. ". . . I suppose Thorton wouldn't be smart enough to think of giving a fake phone number. I'll see if I can find out anything about it." He turned to head for the basement.

Marik raised an eyebrow, admittedly surprised that Seto hadn't so much as commented on what Mokuba had set in motion. But maybe Seto had decided it was unnecessary to comment on, or maybe he was too worried about solving the mystery to feel like scolding Mokuba for involving Alister.

Téa lingered, looking a little worried. "I hope Alister will be okay," she said.

"Me too," Mokuba said. "I'd feel awful if he ended up getting hurt. . . ."

"They probably won't know he's anyone to worry about even if they do see him," Marik said.

"Yeah. . . ." Téa shook herself out of her concerns. Showing them to Mokuba was definitely not the right approach. "Well, it _is _great that he found that phone number. That might just be the break we needed!" She smiled at Mokuba. "I'll go see how Kaiba's making out with it."

"Okay," Mokuba smiled back.

"Say, I just thought of something," Crump said as Téa hurried off. "Do you think that creepy butler guy would know anything?"

"Unlikely," Lector said. "The most he could probably tell us is what things were like around the house. Of course . . ." He paused, thinking. "That might be important. Although I doubt Gozaburo received any kinds of threats or strange telephone calls, since if he had, I'm sure he would have absolutely declared Noa's death deliberate murder."

"And perhaps he wouldn't have locked all mention of Noa away," Gansley said.

"Hobson's probably around here somewhere," Mokuba offered, still wanting to be helpful. "You guys can look for him, if you want."

"Maybe we will," Johnson said.

Crump looked to him. "What about driving back to see your parents?"

Johnson sighed. "I still want to do that. But this mystery should come first. We need to solve it!"

"So we're looking for Hobson then?" Nesbitt asked.

"Yes, let's do that," Gansley said.

But before any of them could move, the little man was suddenly there behind them. "You're looking into the matter of Master Noa's death, Gentlemen?"

Everyone jumped a mile.

"Yes, that's right," Lector said as he turned around. "Do you remember anything that might help?"

The butler just gave him an eerie smile, made even more unsettling by his concealed eyes. "Don't _you_ remember more, Mr. Lector?"

"Just what do you mean by that?!" Lector snapped.

"Only that I recall an occasion shortly before the hit-and-run incident when you told me that sometimes you wished you could spank that boy from here to Kingdom Come for his disobedience and disrespect."

Lector stared at him. "You can't think I meant I wanted to kill him?!" he cried.

"Not at the time, no," Hobson said. "But when Master Noa was struck down only days later and you were the first on the scene, it did make me start to wonder." He pushed up his ever-present sunglasses. "Perhaps you got carried away with your corporal punishment and then you decided to conceal it by striking him down?"

Lector just stared at him in disbelief. "No!"

"You little creep!" Crump boomed. He took a step forward, really wanting to reach out and lift Hobson off the floor.

Nesbitt wanted to go further than that. From his enraged expression and clenched fist, he was about to lunge and punch the man.

Gansley held out his cane to stop them. "Is that the only thing you can contribute to our investigation?" he said coolly.

"Well, I'm sure I could think of many other occasions when Mr. Lector expressed his dislike of Master Noa," Hobson sneered.

"You jerk!" Mokuba got up from the table. "I never have understood why my brother keeps you on, but I wish he hadn't!"

"And if you really believed Lector could be guilty, why didn't you bring any of this up to the police?" Marik demanded.

A shrug. "They were just comments made in anger, and the evidence didn't point to Mr. Lector's guilt. Perhaps he isn't guilty. I'm merely saying what I remember." Hobson gave a bow. Under the circumstances, it looked to everyone like a mocking gesture.

"You're sick!" Mokuba cried. "And you can bet I'm gonna tell Seto about this!"

"That is your decision, Master Mokuba," Hobson said with another sickening smile. "Now, if I'm no longer needed here . . ."

"You're sure not," Mokuba scowled.

Hobson swiftly departed.

Lector groaned and turned away, holding a hand to his forehead. "I can't believe he said that. . . ."

"I always thought he was a little creep," Crump growled.

"You should have let me punch him," Nesbitt said to Gansley.

"What purpose would there have been in that?" Gansley retorted. "With the way he's acting, he might have decided to bring charges against you. Do you think that would help Lector?"

Nesbitt looked away. Of course, that would have added even more stress to the poor man. And Nesbitt wouldn't have felt very good about it himself.

". . . That time I disciplined Noa, it _was_ by spanking," Lector confessed. "But it was only because he almost got himself killed on that fool horse. He pushed the horse to do a stunt they weren't ready for and the horse spooked and tried repeatedly to throw him while he clung to its mane for dear life. He almost got dragged by it before I and the trainer ran out to rescue him. I never did anything to him all the times he treated me like dirt. But when he could have died and he didn't even seem to recognize the danger he was in, it was the last straw."

"I'm sure you were justified under the circumstances," Gansley said. "And you would have been justified so many other times before and after. You treated the boy better than he deserved."

"Only if I hadn't done that, maybe things never would have escalated the night of the accident," Lector said. "I really believe Noa started to hate me from that point on. That final night, he outright told me he did. That was when he ran off. . . ."

"Hey, kids say all kinds of stuff they don't mean," Crump tried to soothe him.

Johnson nodded. "From what you were saying about how Noa acted after the accident, it didn't sound like he hated you. He could have treated you with contempt, but instead he wanted you to stay with him. He knew he was safe with you."

"I would like to see it that way, but I don't know that's the truth," Lector said. "I know none of us have forgotten how cruel and sadistic Noa treated us when he found us wandering through cyberspace. He was absolutely delighted that he had control over all of us—especially me—and that we all had to grovel before him because he could kill us all any time he felt like it."

"Yeah, but . . . by then he'd been all alone in there for six years," Mokuba said softly. "It changed him. He wasn't the same kid you'd looked after, Lector. . . ."

"I try to see it like that, but I'm sure his bitterness and hatred towards me fueled the way he treated us," Lector said. "I can't help thinking if I'd only done some things differently in the past, it might never have led to that outcome. . . ."

"I doubt that, but there's nothing you can do about the past," Gansley told him. "All you can do is try to move forward in the present."

"Only how can I when the past won't let me be?!" Lector finally burst out. "Now even Mr. Kaiba's butler believes I'm guilty!"

"I think he was just messing with your head, the jerk," Crump said.

"Maybe he blames all of you for what happened to Gozaburo and this is his way of getting back at you," Marik said.

"I don't know that he even cared about Gozaburo," Mokuba frowned. "Seto thinks he only cares about money."

"Well, he sure took a lot of sick delight in accusing Lector," Nesbitt growled.

"He was mean like that to Seto too," Mokuba said.

Lector stiffened. It hadn't occurred to him before, but now he wondered whether the man had been in on the abuse Seto had suffered. Lector hadn't known anything about it until Seto had finally told him in confidence about Gozaburo's cruelty to try to make him understand what kind of man Gozaburo had become. Gozaburo's trusted butler might very well have known, or even been in on it. It made Lector sick to think of Hobson sadistically harming Seto and then having the gall to accuse Lector of murder simply because he had gotten so overwrought he had talked about harshly disciplining Noa.

"Lector? Are you okay?"

He started and looked to Mokuba, who was worriedly looking up at him. "I don't know," he admitted. "I need to talk to Mr. Kaiba. . . ."

"Maybe he's found out about the phone number now," Mokuba hoped. "Let's go down and see!"

Everyone trouped down with him.

xxxx

Seto and Téa found the journey downstairs to the computer room somewhat awkward on this round. It was the first time they had had a chance to talk alone since their visit to the former Mrs. Kaiba, and what she had asked seemed louder on the staircase.

Finally Téa decided she would have to be the one to speak up, since Seto seemed most unwilling to do so. "Um . . . Kaiba . . . about what Mrs. Anderson said about me . . ."

Seto just grunted. "Does it matter? She's not the only one to wonder."

That was certainly true; any time the newspapers got hold of a picture of Seto and Téa in the same shot, they went off on a new series of speculation regarding their relationship. Seto had warned her that would be the case when she had wanted to dance with him at Christmastime, and he had been right.

"Yeah, that's true," Téa said slowly. "I just . . . don't want you to get the wrong idea . . . about me. . . ."

"I don't," Seto said flatly. "But I could say the same thing."

They reached the bottom of the steps and entered the library. Téa stood back, watching as Seto unlocked all the doors and finally settled down to talk to the supercomputer about their latest clue. It was still strange to her, how close they had become over the last months. And yet in other ways, they still seemed far apart. Seto had let her in more than almost anyone else, but he didn't like to open up and really talk about what he was feeling—although he had while struggling with Reshef trying to control him, but that had likely been out of pure panic and desperation. Still, she doubted Seto would have opened up even that much to just anyone. And she knew from Mokuba that Seto didn't open up to him, instead wanting Mokuba to stay childlike as long as possible. It was all at once overwhelming and rather amazing that Seto apparently trusted her as much as he did.

Actually . . . if what Mrs. Anderson had thought was true, that wouldn't be so bad . . . would it?

She startled herself out of her thoughts. What was she thinking? Seto certainly wasn't interested in any kind of relationship like that. He had just admitted that. And now Atem was back, so she could focus on him again. . . .

Only she was always worried about the possibility of ruining their friendship by speaking up about her feelings for Atem. She was sure he didn't feel the same about her. And when she thought about it, Seto had been on her mind a lot more lately than Atem had. . . . Take today, even. She had skipped school to be with the Kaibas all day. . . . Although that was because of how upset Mokuba was to think Noa might have been murdered. It hadn't been about Seto. But she couldn't deny she had grown to enjoy time spent with Seto.

Oh, this was ridiculous. And there were more important things to think about right now anyway. She shook her head and tried to focus on the present. Apparently a lot had happened while she had been spaced out; the supercomputer had been told of the phone number and had already looked it up.

Seto was leaning back, scowling at the results on the computer screen. "That's where the phone number belongs? You're sure?"

"Why does everyone keep doubting me?" the supercomputer sighed. "Yes, I'm sure!"

Téa came forward and stared at the address. "But this is . . . some weird restaurant. . . ."

"The Casablanca Club," the supercomputer supplied. "A restaurant based around a 1940s theme. They have branches here, in Los Angeles, and in New York City."

"So now the question is whether the caller is a frequent patron at the club or one of the employees," Seto mused.

"This number is for the telephone in the manager's office," the supercomputer said. "The patrons wouldn't be using it."

"So who is the manager?!" Seto demanded.

"John Black. An alias?" the supercomputer wondered.

"We're sure going to find out." Seto got up from the chair. "Let's go."

The entire day had been spent running to and from different locations. But Téa willingly followed Seto out of the room and up the stairs, where they met the rest of the group trying to come down.

"Oh . . . Mr. Kaiba. . . . Miss Gardner. . . ." Lector stumbled back to allow them passage.

"We've found where the phone number belongs," Seto said. "The Casablanca Club. Does that mean anything to any of you?"

He received multiple blank stares.

"Nothing," Gansley said.

"What about John Black?" Téa asked.

"I'm afraid not," Johnson said.

"It's probably a phony name," Seto said. "But we're going there now to find out. Mokuba, I want you to stay here with Marik."

Mokuba looked up at him. Seto was half-afraid he would protest, but instead he blurted, "Seto, Hobson's being a jerk again. He's trying to make it look like he thinks Lector might have killed Noa!"

"What?!" Seto frowned. "I suppose I'll need to have a talk with him and find out why he thinks that."

"And I need to talk with you as well, Mr. Kaiba," Lector said.

"Fine. You and I will look for Hobson, just in case he's mixed up in this," Seto said. "We'll go to the club afterwards."

"Everyone else is out of school now," Téa said. "They might want to come too."

Seto grunted. "Whatever. Let them know about it. And make sure to tell Wheeler not to make a fool of himself. I'm pretty sure The Casablanca Club has a strict dress code."

"Then a lot of us will need to change before we go there anyway," Téa realized.

"Fine. Have my chauffeur take you home and wait for you while you do what you need to do. He can pick up everyone else who's going and come back here," Seto said.

"Great. Thanks, Kaiba," Téa smiled.

Seto just shrugged. But Téa left to find the chauffeur with a light heart. It was so nice that Seto really was part of the group now, and that he wanted to be.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes: I decided to use Harry2's idea of Téa dressing in period clothing for the excursion.**

**Chapter Ten**

Lector was tense and worried as he and Seto set out to find Hobson. He waited until he was sure they were out of earshot of Mokuba before speaking, and even then, he kept his voice low. "Mr. Kaiba, did Hobson ever abuse you, or was it just Gozaburo?"

Seto's eyes darkened. "Hobson never abused me in the same ways, but he did follow Gozaburo's orders to keep me working even if I was exhausted, so to that extent you could say he abused me. He also liked to taunt me by holding Gozaburo's riding whip, although he never used it himself."

"Why on Earth did you keep him on?!" Lector exclaimed.

"I guess you could say it was a case of keeping your enemies close," Seto said. "That, plus I knew he only cared about the money. As long as I paid him well, he wouldn't go join one of my competitors and tell them secrets about me or KaibaCorp."

"And that's still your policy now?" Lector frowned.

"Mostly. I did end up trusting him a little more when he was so intent on not going along with Scarlet's plans to kill all of you and everyone else who betrayed the company in some way." Seto stared ahead. "I don't know what's got into him now."

"Maybe nothing," Lector said. "Maybe this is just how he's always been and he decided to show a little of it."

"It's in character for him, I'll admit that," Seto said. "But I never knew that he had any particular feelings against you or any of the rest of the Big Five."

"I think he just likes to torture people," Lector said. "I never cared much for him, I must say."

"You're probably right," Seto said. "I know he always delighted in emotionally tormenting me. He can't do that anymore, so maybe he decided to find a new outlet with you."

At that moment Hobson stepped out from around a corner. "Ah, Master Kaiba, Mr. Lector. I trust that Master Mokuba told of our little conversation earlier?"

"He sure did, and I want answers!" Seto exclaimed. "Where do you get off saying things like that to Lector?! Do you really believe it?!"

"Perhaps I should take my leave," Lector said coolly. "He may be more candid with you if I'm not around, Mr. Kaiba."

"Go ahead," Seto said, sounded distracted.

Lector turned and headed back for the living room. Seto stood glowering at his butler.

"I merely said what I remember," Hobson said. "I never said Mr. Lector was guilty _or_ innocent. I just pointed out something strange and possibly incriminating that he once said."

"You've got a lot of nerve," Seto growled. "You know how badly this is torturing him, I'm sure, so you decided to make it worse!"

"Does it torture him, Master Kaiba?" Hobson sneered. "If he's innocent, perhaps. But if he's guilty . . ."

"Why are you so against him?" Seto interrupted. "Do you know something I don't?!"

"Do I come across that way? Forgive me, Master Kaiba. I know no such thing." Hobson bowed.

Seto growled. "There's no way I can prove you don't. But you'd better not be lying to me. If you are, I promise you're going to regret it."

"I understand, Master Kaiba." Hobson just kept smiling that eerie smile. "Now, if that's all . . ."

"Yeah. Get out of here," Seto ordered.

He turned and headed for the stairs. He didn't know what to make of Hobson; he never had. But now he needed to hurry and get ready to go to the Casablanca Club. He wanted to be ready to go as soon as the chauffeur got back.

It only dawned on him when he reached the top of the stairs that he had actually been defending Lector. Well, stranger things had happened, he supposed.

But not many.

xxxx

Alister was relieved when six o'clock came and went without anything going wrong. Mr. Thorton shakily started to close up, checking out last-minute customers and saying Goodbye to the departing employees.

"We're closing now," he said to Alister.

"I know. I'm going when you go," Alister replied.

Thorton stiffened, recognizing the voice. "You!" he exclaimed. "You're that man who was in here earlier! You said you were leaving!"

"I did, and went back to my natural looks," Alister retorted. "I wanted to watch over you until you closed up for the night. And I need to ask you: Why are you on a first-name basis with the former Mrs. Kaiba?"

Mr. Thorton snorted in discomfort. "She's an old friend. She comes in here a lot looking for books."

"Some friend you are to her," Alister said. "Don't you think she'll be hurt about the things you're keeping from her?"

Mr. Thorton looked away. "I'm sure she'd understand about me trying to protect my family. That's the only reason I'm letting these horrible people keep me mixed up in this! What am I supposed to do?!"

Alister's phone dinged and he looked down at the text from Mokuba.

_Seto traced the phone number! It goes to the Casablanca Club._

_He's going there with some of the others to check it out._

_Thanks a lot, Alister. I hope you're still okay._

He quickly tapped out a positive response.

_Everything's fine here._

"There's probably nothing you can do, Mr. Thorton," he said aloud. _You may have already given us exactly what we needed._

"Then I'm going home," Mr. Thorton sputtered. "Are you coming or not?"

"I'm coming." Alister walked out with him, still typing, but looked up to make sure all seemed well. He waited until the man got into his car and drove away. Then he climbed on his motorcycle and sped off after him to make sure he arrived home safely.

xxxx

Mrs. Gardner looked up as Téa got out of the limousine that was strangely in the driveway and hurried into the house. "Hello, Dear. What's going on?" she asked.

"Hi, Mom! Sorry, can't talk. We're going to the Casablanca Club," Téa said almost breathlessly as she ran for the stairs. She couldn't take a long time getting ready; they needed to hurry and get over there!

"The Casablanca Club?" Mrs. Gardner came to the bottom of the stairs, placing a hand on the railing as she looked up. "That lovely 1940s club? I always wondered what it would be like to wear period clothing and blend in with the surroundings."

Téa paused at the top of the stairs. That was an interesting idea. Would it be easier to get somewhere with the staff if she dressed up and blended in? Or would they get annoyed and mistake Téa for one of them? Maybe all the customers would think she worked there. On the other hand, if the staff wasn't very helpful, maybe Téa could even pretend to be one of them to sneak into the Employees Only area and find John Black's office.

". . . Do people dress up like that a lot to go there?" she asked.

"I've heard that some of them do," Mrs. Gardner said.

The wheels were turning in Téa's head. She certainly didn't have anything she could think of that looked 1940s-ish, but maybe she could stop at a costume shop. Then again, she hated to think how much it would cost to rent one, and she certainly didn't want to take advantage of Seto's money by asking him if he would loan her the funds. She had wanted to save her own money for dancing school, although if this would really give them an edge in solving the case she would be willing to part with some of it. . . .

"Wait a minute, Dear! I think I have something you could wear," Mrs. Gardner exclaimed. She scurried up the stairs and into her room. "I only wore it once, to a costume party. I was a 1940s singer." In a moment she came back with a black velvet dress and white elbow-length gloves.

Téa stared at it. It _did_ look similar to clothing she'd seen in 1940s movies. "That looks perfect! Thanks, Mom!" she exclaimed.

"You just go and have a good time." Mrs. Gardner paused. "Judging by your transportation, I'm guessing Seto Kaiba is taking you?"

Téa went a bit red. "That's right. Well, he's taking several of us. It's just a friendly excursion." She felt bad for the half-truth, but she certainly didn't want to tell her mother that they were investigating the possible murder of a ten-year-old boy.

"Well, I'm sure you'll have fun." Mrs. Gardner smiled. "It's good that boy has been opening up the way he is. I'm sure you had a lot to do with that."

"Just a little," Téa said with an embarrassed laugh. "I'd better hurry and get ready. Thanks again, Mom!" She took the dress and darted into her room.

xxxx

Solomon looked up as the bell over the door rang, signaling the arrival of Yugi and the others. "Hello, all of you," he greeted.

"Hey, Grampa," Yugi said. "Where's Atem?"

"And Yami?" Bakura added.

"Yami Bakura went home in disgust after we never could turn anything up," Solomon said. "Atem is upstairs in the living room. I'm afraid he feels pretty discouraged. It's incredible how Gozaburo locked up every mention of Noa. It was like he never had a child!"

"No kidding," Joey said.

"He must have been hurting very deeply to feel like he couldn't ever stand to hear Noa so much as mentioned," Bakura said.

"Who knows if that was really his reason," Tristan grunted. "Maybe he felt like Noa was his one failure and he hated being reminded of that. You know he had a big deal about not failing and he drilled that into Kaiba."

"That's true," Bakura said. "I wonder how someone gets like that. . . ."

"Well, nevermind that now," Solomon said. "Téa sent a message about picking up anyone who wants to investigate the Casablanca Club. I'm certainly going." He smiled.

"You are, Grampa?" Yugi blinked in surprise.

"Of course! Back in my day I used to visit all kinds of unique places like that. It will probably be a nostalgia trip." Solomon turned to head for the stairs. "I'll be ready in a jiffy!"

Yugi watched him go with a bit of a smile. "I'd better get ready too. Are you guys going?"

"I'm definitely in!" Joey exclaimed. "Although I'm not crazy about having to get all dressed up for this. . . ."

"It will look suspicious if you don't," Tristan said.

". . . Good point," Joey sighed. "Okay, we'd better run home and change. See you, Yug."

"Bye, guys," Yugi said.

". . . You know, I don't even think Yami has anything formal to wear," Bakura realized. "Although if he switches forms, he could fit into something of mine. . . ." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But I know he won't like it regardless."

"But he'll probably come if he's worried about you, right?" Yugi said.

"Yes, I'm sure he will," Bakura smiled. "Alright, I'll see you later, Yugi."

Yugi bade Goodbye to Bakura as well and hurried upstairs. Atem was laying across the living room couch, staring up at the ceiling. Yugi frowned, watching him in concern. It certainly wasn't usual to see him like that. Yugi put on a smile and went over, leaning over the back of the couch. "Hey! Aren't you coming to the Casablanca Club with us?"

Atem jumped a mile. "Oh . . . Yugi. . . . Yes, I suppose so." He sighed and sat up. "I just wonder if this will really work out. So far, nothing else has seemed to."

"It's our best lead right now," Yugi said. "Maybe it'll be what we need to break this case wide open!"

"I certainly hope so. And I also hope we aren't making a mistake to go there." Atem got off the couch. "It might put all of us in danger."

"If we go in a huge group, I don't think they'll try anything," Yugi said.

"Maybe not then, but later." Atem sighed. "But you're right that we have to try something. It's true that we'll hopefully have the element of surprise. They surely won't be expecting us to blow in on them."

Yugi gave an enthusiastic nod. "That's right! I'm sure we'll have the upper hand!"

Atem finally smiled. "Then let's get ready to go." He headed for the bedroom.

Relieved that Atem seemed to have cheered up, Yugi beamed and followed.

xxxx

Yami Bakura was definitely in a sour mood. When Bakura got home, he discovered the thief sprawled on the living room couch, munching on a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Oreo the cat was walking on him and trying to eat it with him.

"We didn't have Kentucky Fried Chicken in the house," Bakura said in surprise.

"I ordered it," Yami Bakura grunted.

"With what?!" Bakura stared at the card table. The bucket with the rest of the chicken was there, along with assorted papers from his father's desk. "Oh dear, you didn't. . . ."

Yami Bakura shrugged. "So I used his credit card. If he bothers to come back tonight, he can eat the leftovers."

Bakura ran a hand down his face. "You have money, you know," he said.

"Yes, but they make you use a credit card when ordering on the phone or online," Yami Bakura pointed out. "I'll pay him back if he doesn't want any."

Bakura sighed but tried to smile. "Alright. I hope he won't be too angry. . . ."

"I'm not feeling that great right now myself," Yami Bakura retorted. "Although the meat is helping. . . . Cat!" he scolded as Oreo bit into the drumstick.

Bakura burst out laughing. "You should know by now that you can't eat meat without Oreo immediately showing up," he exclaimed. "She loves it as much as you do!"

Yami Bakura grunted. "She could take a piece out of the bucket. Instead it always has to be whichever piece I'm eating!"

Bakura snickered as he headed for the bathroom to wash his hands. Fried chicken really did sound good.

He returned in a moment with a plate from the kitchen and loaded a piece of chicken onto it. "A lot of the gang is going to the Casablanca Club," he said as he sat down at the table. "Apparently Alister turned up a phone number that led to there."

Yami Bakura didn't even bother to ask how Alister fit into things. "Do you want to go?"

"I was planning to," Bakura admitted.

Yami Bakura growled under his breath, definitely not pleased. Yugi was right that he would feel he had to go to keep an eye on Bakura, and after the long day of not being able to turn up anything useful, all he wanted to do was eat fried chicken at home and maybe play Doom.

"Maybe I wouldn't be needed, though," Bakura quickly added. "There really will be a large group going as it is."

"Then let's stay here," Yami Bakura said.

Bakura sighed but smiled. "Alright, Yami. I'll let Yugi know." He picked up his phone with the hand that hadn't been holding the greasy chicken and started to type a text.

Yami Bakura scowled. "Wait."

Bakura looked up. "Yami?"

"If you don't go, you'll just be worrying all night that you should have gone and making it difficult for me to enjoy not going." Yami Bakura sat up. "Let's eat and then I'll drive you over in the van."

Bakura smiled a bit more. "Thank you."

Yami Bakura just shrugged and kept eating.

xxxx

The Big Five had decided that with all the other people coming, it would be better not to try crowding into one limousine. With Seto almost ready, they had gone outside to wait by Gansley's limousine. Lector seemed lost in his own world, staring off at the yard without likely seeing any of it.

"Are you still thinking about what that slime said?" Nesbitt growled.

Lector started. "Somewhat. Mostly I'm just wondering again how all these pieces fit together. Who is John Black?! If he's the one after us, then why?! What could we ever possibly have done to him?!"

"I guess we'll find out soon," Crump hoped.

"And is the person after us the same one who killed Noa, or are they just using Noa's death as a way to torture us without them really knowing who was behind it?" Lector gripped his arms. "It occurs to me that if they're one and the same, it's ridiculous to drag up Noa's death to torture us. Then they might get exposed as the true perpetrator of the crime!"

"Those are good questions," Gansley said. "You're making an excellent point, Lector. I suppose it's possible that we're in the middle of two different plots."

"I'd also like to know why everybody's out to get me," Lector said, bitterness slipping into his voice. "Whoever hates us thinks I was the easiest target because of what happened to Noa, but that doesn't explain people like Hobson ganging up on me as well! I never did anything to him!"

"I still want to punch him," Nesbitt growled.

"If he truly has no connection to this plot, then I would say he's just being cruel," Gansley said.

"That was the conclusion I came to as well," Lector admitted, "but then there's a part of me that wonders if that's truly the explanation."

"Life in general really does seem to gang up on you, Lector," Johnson said. His own voice dripped with bitterness. "I don't understand why either, but it makes me angry."

Lector smiled a bit. It was good that he had such loyal, protective friends. Maybe there were no real answers to be had, but he knew they loved him and that was an immense comfort.

They all came to attention as Seto's limousine pulled in at the bottom of the driveway.

"Everyone had better be ready to leave," Gansley grunted.

Nesbitt nodded. "I don't see any point in waiting any longer. I'm not even sure I see the point in Yugi's group coming with us. I doubt we'll need that many people running around."

"I guess they just wanna feel useful and help," Crump said.

Lector folded his arms, silently frowning.

"Are you alright?" Johnson asked.

"I don't like the thought of taking all of them with us," Lector said. "We don't know what we're going to run into."

"At least Mokuba won't be coming," Gansley said.

"Thank God for that," Lector muttered.

The door opened and Téa stepped out in her black evening gown. "Hi, guys," she greeted.

All of the Big Five looked up. Crump especially stared at her in amazed approval, and suddenly she wondered if her plan had really been a good idea.

"Um . . ." She pulled the white wrap closer around her shoulders. "I thought maybe it would work out good to blend in with the theme of the club. . . ."

"Sounds great to me!" Crump said.

Sensing the need to put Téa at ease, Lector smiled at her. "You look lovely, Miss Gardner."

Téa smiled back. "Thanks. . . ."

Seto rushed out the front doors, dressed in the white suit he occasionally wore at business ventures to look more professional. Mokuba and Marik appeared in the open doorway.

"Be careful!" Mokuba called.

"I will," Seto called back. "And you two be careful here. We don't know what might happen."

"We'll be on guard," Marik promised.

Seto ground to a halt in front of Téa. His expression was unreadable, but he was clearly taking in her attire. "You really went all-out," he commented.

"It was Mom's idea," Téa said. "Oh . . . of course I didn't tell her what we're really going there to do. . . ."

Seto grunted. "Of course not." He looked to the Big Five. "Let's go."

Gansley nodded. "We'll follow behind you." He and the others climbed into his limousine.

Seto led Téa back to his. "Did anyone end up coming with you?"

"Yeah." Téa looked to the occupied seats as they walked up to the car. "Yugi and Atem and Mr. Muto are here, and Joey and Tristan. Duke decided not to come, Joey didn't want to tell Serenity, and we couldn't reach Mai on the phone. Yami Bakura is bringing Bakura to meet us there."

Joey tugged impatiently on the collar of his dress shirt. "So let's get out of here already! You know how much I hate wearin' these monkey suits. I'll bet I haven't worn this since that business dinner we went to last year!"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Seto remarked. He and Téa climbed into the limousine and the chauffeur shut the door. In a moment, they were rolling down the driveway and onto the road.

xxxx

The Casablanca Club was located in downtown Domino City, housed in a long, two-level building. The bright marquee lights announcing the name flashed insistently over the large parking lot and lit upon several restored classic cars near the doors. Seto's and Gansley's chauffeurs quickly parked in the non-valet area and everyone started to get out.

"I wonder if we need to warn Bakura about the valet parking," Yugi said in concern. "I know Yami Bakura wouldn't take kindly to having to give up the car keys at all. . . ."

"Couldn't hurt," Joey shrugged. "But I'm sure Bakura's thought about that problem himself."

"Maybe." Yugi started to type. "It's not like they usually visit places that have valet service."

"Eh . . . good point," Joey said.

Lector was silent. The kids mostly seemed to be enjoying themselves, but for all they knew, they were about to meet the person responsible for all of this heartache and horror, and possibly even for killing Noa. He couldn't enjoy this. And he felt like he had to look out for everyone's safety, including theirs.

Noticing Lector's sober countenance, Atem looked to the others. "Let's not forget why we're here," he said.

Everyone else sobered as well. "Right." Joey's eyes narrowed. "We're gonna see if there's a major creep in here. I just hope we'll know him if we run into him."

"Say, this place doesn't insist on reservations, do they?" Solomon suddenly spoke up.

"They do, but I took care of it," Gansley grunted.

"Oh good," Téa said in relief. She hadn't even considered that possible problem at all.

They slipped inside without incident. Once in the lobby, they had to stop and stare at their surroundings. Even the Big Five seemed surprised. It really was as though they had crossed into the past. The music, the decor, the employees' clothes and hairstyles . . . all of it was heavily reminiscent of the 1940s. A brunette woman was singing an old jazz standard on the stage, accompanied by a local jazz band. Cigarette girls roamed the crowds, although of course they were not actually offering cigarettes other than chocolate versions. The customers sat back and drank in the entertainment and the atmosphere. It was an all-out experience.

"So, this place is pretty accurate, huh?" Joey said to Gansley.

"Believe it or not, the 1940s were a bit before even my time," Gansley grunted. "Although from a combination of seeing old films and hearing my parents' stories, yes, it's quite accurate."

"How are we gonna go about this?" Crump wondered.

"After the maitre'd comes and lets us in, I'm going to call John Black from that phone on the wall and try to get him to come in here," Seto said. "When he comes into the room, we can observe him from a safe distance and see if any of us know him."

"Works for me," Crump shrugged.

Joey, meanwhile, was distracted by the people milling around. The waitresses all seemed to be dressed like mysterious women in old noir movies. Each wore a black dress and a wide-brimmed hat. Some also chose to wear short sheer veils hanging from their hats.

"They really go all-out with their theme," Crump remarked.

"No kidding," said Tristan.

Suddenly Joey went stiff. "Mai?!"

Seto looked over at him with a start. "What are you talking about, Wheeler?"

"That waitress over there!" Joey pointed ahead to where a woman with long blonde hair was vanishing around the side of the stage. "That was Mai! I know it!"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Everyone was stunned by Joey's announcement. Was he right? It really didn't make sense, but then again, what on this case did?

"Are you sure about what you saw, Wheeler?" Seto frowned.

"Of course I'm sure!" Joey snapped. "That was Mai!"

"Excuse me," a new voice suddenly interjected. "I apologize for the delay. Are you the Charles Gansley party?"

Gansley looked to the tall, mustachioed man on the other side of the red velvet barrier, who was apparently the maitre'd. "That's right."

A nod. "I'll show you to your tables now." The barrier was unhooked and the maitre'd gestured to the spacious room. Gansley led the group inside.

"Hey, uh, you don't happen to have somebody working for you named Mai Valentine, do you?" Joey asked.

The maitre'd quirked a graying eyebrow. "No, I can't say that we do."

"What?! But I just . . ." Joey trailed off with a gasp as Tristan elbowed him in the ribs. "What was that for?!"

"Shut up, man!" Tristan hissed. "If Mai's not listed as an employee, and that really was her, then maybe they're not supposed to know who she is!"

". . . Oh." Joey frowned. "Nevermind!" He waved his hands at the maitre'd. "My mistake."

The man was content to ignore Joey as he led them to the far right side of the room. When placing their reservation, Gansley had requested something out of the way of the main traffic. He was pleased to see the results.

"This is perfect. Thank you," he said as he sat down at one of the tables. The rest of the Big Five and Solomon sat with him, while the rest of Yugi's group and Seto settled at the second table.

The maitre'd nodded. "Your waiter will be with you shortly." He bowed and hurried away.

"Do they always bug out as fast as that?" Joey wondered. "Maybe he knew something!"

"Unlikely," Gansley grunted. "You can see how busy it is here."

Yugi nodded. "When Bakura and Yami Bakura come, they'll have to sit at a third table. I hope there'll still be a free one by us."

"What would Mai be doing here anyway?" Tristan frowned. "She'd have no reason to come here!"

"Maybe not, but she was here!" Joey insisted. "I know that was her!"

"But you only saw her from the back," Téa pointed out. "A lot of women have long blonde hair!"

"It was Mai," Joey scowled. "I recognized her walk!"

"Seriously?" Tristan rolled his eyes.

"Actually, it's possible," Yugi said. "People _do _have unique walks."

"You really think Joey's right?" Tristan said in disbelief.

"I don't think we should say he isn't just because it's weird and doesn't make sense," Yugi said.

"Thank you," Joey grunted.

Seto got up to go to the phone. "I'm going to call John Black now," he said. If Joey was right, maybe Mai could help them later, but she wasn't around now and he wanted to return to the original plan.

"Okay," Yugi said slowly. He hoped it was a good plan. It could backfire, but it was all they had.

Soon Seto scowled. The phone kept ringing, but no one was answering. In annoyance he hung it up and went back to the table. "He isn't in the office," he said. "We'll have to watch whoever goes through the Employees Only door."

"Right," Yugi nodded.

Throughout the meal they all kept watch. Yami Bakura and Bakura eventually joined them, with Bakura hungry even though they'd already had some fried chicken at home and Yami Bakura eager to see what kinds of meat dishes they had.

"So, he's probably going to embarrass us all, right?" Tristan grunted as Yami Bakura perused the menu.

Bakura flushed. "Yami, please remember the table manners I tried to teach you," he pleaded.

"Whatever," Yami Bakura grunted. He had long ago grown bored and annoyed with the fancy clothes he had to wear and was trying to loosen his tie while he read the menu.

Lector was barely paying attention. He was remembering an occasion where Gozaburo, his wife, and Noa had gone to dinner at a fancy restaurant like this and Lector had been invited to come along. While Noa certainly hadn't seemed to have manners towards Lector, he had known how to behave in the restaurant. He had used all the right utensils and said all the right things to the servers and Gozaburo and Mrs. Kaiba and the restaurant staff had all praised him to no end.

"Hey, Buddy?"

He started and looked over at Crump, who was regarding him in concern. "What is it?"

"Are you okay?" Crump asked. "You're spacing out again."

Lector sighed. "Yes. . . . I'm just thinking how Noa's behavior in a place like this was exactly the opposite of this man's." He glanced over as Yami Bakura leaned back in the chair, boredly waiting for the food as he swung his tie around in his hand.

"Yami!" Bakura moaned. He looked like he wanted to hide under the table.

"I've seen people do this before," Yami Bakura defended.

"Yes, but only in fast food restaurants," Bakura said.

"Bah! This place has too many rules," Yami Bakura growled.

"But we don't want to draw unnecessary attention to ourselves," Bakura said.

At least Yami Bakura couldn't deny that. Scowling, he finally put the tie back on while muttering to himself all the while.

Crump smirked a bit. "Yeah, he's pretty out of his element, alright."

"And no one's gone through the Employees Only door at all," Nesbitt complained. "What if there's a back door and they went in that way?"

Deciding that sounded possible, Seto got up and rang John Black's office again. "Still no answer," he said in frustration.

It was less than a minute later when a chilling scream cut through the room. The music and talking ground to a halt. Several people froze with utensils full of food. Two waitresses ran through the Employees Only door, and in a moment one ran back out. "Call an ambulance! Mr. Black is laying stabbed on the floor in his office!"

A shocked murmur rose through the room. Several people took out their cellphones to call for help. Yami Bakura swore in Egyptian.

"Oh no!" Bakura gasped. "Who could have done such a thing?!"

"And when did they do it?" Seto frowned. "Was he already laying there when we arrived? Or did he come in a back door like Nesbitt said and it happened after we got here?"

Of course, no one had any answers. The paramedics arrived within minutes, followed swiftly by the police. But it quickly became apparent that no one had seen or heard anything strange until the scream. And the fact that there had been a scream was strange in itself. When the waitresses had gone back to look, no one had been with Mr. Black at all.

Joey was growing restless. "I think it was Mai who screamed!" he insisted, pushing back his chair.

"There's no way you could tell that for sure over all the commotion in here, Wheeler," Seto objected.

"Well, we can't find her anywhere!" Joey defended. "So she must have gone into the Employees Only section! She could have easily gone to Black's office, maybe because she heard the phone ringing and nobody answering! What if the creep was even still there and he's carted her off someplace?!"

"You have to stay calm, Joey," Atem insisted. "We can't leave until the police talk to us."

Joey scowled and took out his phone to desperately try to call or text Mai.

Seto was less than pleased. Once the police checked the telephone records, they would find out that Mr. Black had been called from the phone in the main room. And it would probably get traced back to Seto one way or another. He really didn't want to tell all about what they were up to in investigating Noa's death, but they likely wouldn't have much choice.

"I can't stay here!" Joey burst out. "Mai's just not answering! I have to go see if she's still in here somewhere!"

"Wheeler, don't do it!" Seto snapped.

But Joey had already leaped up and darted around the side of the stage, where the waitress who was supposedly Mai had vanished earlier.

"That big idiot!" Tristan exclaimed. "Ugh! I'll have to go after him!" He threw his cloth napkin down on his empty plate.

"At least the police didn't notice yet," Solomon said. "There's so many people to talk to, it will probably be a long time before they get to us."

"And what if Joey's right?" Yugi worried. "What if Mai really is here, and in terrible danger?!"

Lector started to get up too. "I'll go after him, Mr. Taylor," he said to Tristan.

Tristan frowned in confusion. "But you don't really know the guy like I know him," he protested.

"But I can help out if there really has been trouble," Lector said.

"Are you trying to shoulder everyone's safety again?" Nesbitt blurted.

Lector started and looked back at him. "Maybe I am," he admitted. "I failed to save Noa. I don't want anyone else to suffer because of his death."

Gansley sighed, worried but not ready to try to convince Lector not to go. "Just be careful," he said. "None of us want to see you pushed to your breaking point again."

Humbled, Lector looked down and slowly nodded. "I will do my best."

Nesbitt pushed back his chair. "I'm coming with you."

Yami Bakura looked over from where he was munching on a very rare burger. "So is everyone going to end up going?" he said sarcastically.

"No, the rest of us had better stay," Solomon said.

Yugi sighed, watching as Lector and Nesbitt disappeared behind the backstage curtain. "Be careful, guys," he said softly.

xxxx

Nesbitt was tense as he and Lector ducked backstage. No one was in sight, including Joey. But Lector thought he heard footsteps running up ahead. He hurried past Nesbitt and down the corridor. To their right were dressing rooms, but he didn't bother with them at the moment. "Mr. Wheeler?!" he called.

Nesbitt glanced at the dressing rooms as he ran after Lector. Most of the doors were closed, but one was open, revealing a darkened room with a wide-brimmed hat draped over the back of the chair at the dressing table. None of that was helpful.

He looked back to Lector. "I know a lot of your stress is my fault," he said.

Lector looked to him in surprise. "You haven't done anything to hurt me."

"Not on this case," Nesbitt agreed. "But on a lot of the others lately." He frowned. "I realized something. For a while after we got back to our bodies, we weren't getting along too badly. But then when that alternate Yami Bakura stuck us all in his gaming world, everything fell apart and it's been downhill since then."

Lector frowned. "We've always had spells where we get along and spells where we don't. I will admit that our spells of not getting along have seemed worse lately, but we haven't had this much stress piled on either of us until these recent events. Neither of us knows how to handle it, but maybe especially you, since you're also trying to figure out how to deal with deeply caring about the rest of us."

Nesbitt growled and punched the wall. "Stop making excuses for me!"

Lector flinched. "It's how I honestly see it, Nesbitt."

"You shouldn't like me any more than you liked Noa!" Nesbitt finally burst out.

Now Lector finally stopped walking. Clearly this was a problem that needed his complete attention. "There's a difference," he said as he walked in front of Nesbitt and reached to grip his shoulders. "Noa never liked me either. But you _do_ like me. It's easier to put up with your behavior when I know that."

Nesbitt looked away. "I love you," he muttered.

"And I love you too," Lector said. "When you care about somebody, it's much easier to see their good points as well as their bad, and it's the good that stands out more."

"But it probably also means the bad hurts more," Nesbitt growled.

Lector couldn't really deny that. He sighed. "I don't know what else to tell you, Nesbitt."

". . . I just wish things could go back to the way they were before that alternate Yami Bakura intruded," Nesbitt said. "Our relationship was better, and . . . I didn't hate myself so much."

Sadness filled Lector's eyes. "I wish that too, in one way. I certainly wish you didn't despise yourself. But I did realize how much deeper our relationship has become since these dark trials started. As much as I'm sick of them myself, look at how much different we are compared to how my biological family is. Aside from Evangeline, they couldn't handle one thing going wrong and everything's fallen apart because of it. But think about everything we've come through, Nesbitt! In spite of all the hurt and the pain and all the many times something has gone wrong, we've stayed together! That had better mean a lot to you, because it means everything to me!"

Nesbitt couldn't find the words to reply. He looked down, shakily nodding. "I've lost my family too. Maybe that's part of why I'm struggling so much now. They couldn't accept me when I wasn't even doing anything wrong, just going against their idea of what I should be like. I can't comprehend being accepted over and over when I actually have done things wrong."

"I am so sorry you've had to suffer, Nesbitt," Lector said. "And I imagine my normally vindictive nature doesn't make it easy for you to understand my acceptance either. As I said, it's different if there's caring. I was so furious at Seto because I realized he didn't care who he hurt. You care so much that you can hardly stand it!"

Nesbitt had to admit that was true. Over the last months he had grown increasingly unable to know how he could live with himself. And yet he tried to keep going, to improve himself no matter how impossible it seemed. But every time he backslid he only felt worse.

"A machine wouldn't have this problem," he said. "A machine would improve itself without failure."

Lector laid a hand on Nesbitt's shoulder. "A machine couldn't love me."

Nesbitt slowly looked over at him. Lector was in earnest. Finally Nesbitt nodded. Now he didn't know what else to say. He was overwhelmed, and all the angrier that everyone they encountered seemed to gang up on Lector on this case. In Nesbitt's eyes, Lector couldn't be less deserving of it.

"Mai!"

They both jumped as Joey suddenly yelled around the corner. They took off running, dashing around the corner and into another long corridor, this one darker than the path they had just been on. The only light was from Joey's cellphone up ahead.

"Mai, are you here?! Come on, answer me!" Joey pleaded.

Suddenly there was a crash.

"Mr. Wheeler?!" Lector called. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah," Joey scowled. "I just bumped into this open door here. . . ."

"An open door?!" Nesbitt exclaimed. "Where does it lead?!"

Suddenly Joey realized the significance of the discovery. He held up his phone. "It leads . . . to an alley in the back of the place! Mai!" He tore outside.

Lector and Nesbitt quickly caught up and followed him. As they looked around for any indication of why the door was standing open, they all saw a figure desperately running towards them out of the darkness. Her long blonde hair swished behind her as she ran.

"Joey!"

Joey ran over to meet her. "Mai! I knew it was you!" he exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"Let's get back inside, quick!" Mai replied, looking over her shoulder. She wouldn't admit to being afraid, but she clearly was.

The group quickly went back through the door. Lector shut it and leaned on it to keep it from suddenly being opened from the outside. Mai looked back down the hall.

"Did you find that Black guy laying stabbed?" Joey demanded.

"Yes, I did, and I saw who did it," Mai replied. "He was going to stab me too, but I put up too much of a fight and then those other girls were running in. He had to act fast, so he grabbed me and dragged me out through that door and into his car. I jumped out while it was moving and ran back here."

"Oh wow," Joey gasped.

"So who was it?!" Nesbitt asked.

"Well, first I'd better tell you that I'm here because Siegfried von Schroeder asked me to come," Mai said.

"What?!" Joey yelped. "Why would he ask you, and why would you say Yes?!"

"When I was working undercover for Pegasus in Germany, Siegfried was my contact," Mai said, "so we know each other pretty well. He called me this morning and said he'd been learning some upsetting things about his father and he'd traced a possible lead to this place. He asked me to go undercover and try to get the person to talk. He didn't want to say anything to anyone else until he knew the truth. He sounded so rattled that I agreed."

"And John Black was this possible lead," Lector deduced.

"Yes," Mai said. "He wouldn't talk to me, but I could tell he really did know something. I was going to try again to talk to him, but then I came and found him on the floor. And the man standing over him was the von Schroeder family chauffeur!"

"Oh man," Joey gasped. "So what does that mean?!"

"I don't know," Mai frowned. "I need to talk to Siegfried." She looked down the hall again. "What's the deal with Black? Is he dead?"

"Last we knew, he was alive," Joey said, "but we don't know how bad it is."

Mai sighed and started walking while taking out her phone. "I'm going to call Siegfried and tell him."

"And then I'm afraid you'll have no choice but to also tell the police," Lector told her.

"I know," Mai said. "I guess we're all going to have to do that now."

"We'd better hustle," Joey said. "By now the police might already be talking to Kaiba and the rest!"

They hurried down the corridor.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Siegfried had decided to fly out to Domino City after requesting Mai's help. It looked to him that the answers to the mystery were in Domino and not Germany, and he couldn't bear to wait around for Mai's report. Maybe by the time he arrived in Domino, she would have learned something and he could question John Black in person.

He ran a hand over his face. All he had managed to learn was that his father had been in America when Noa had been killed, which he had already known. What if he had really gone to Domino City and . . .

No! He still couldn't bring himself to believe such an abominable thing. His father had been hard and cold, and Siegfried had never pleased him, but the man wasn't a murderer!

But . . . what if he was?

"Oh no. . . ." Siegfried faced the window, shaking. He was almost to the Domino City International Airport by now. Most of the flight had been spent in torture, digging up painful memories, trying to think of anything that could be a clue . . . trying to think how he would ever break it to Leonhard if their father was guilty. . . .

"Siegfried?"

He jumped a mile. "Leonhard?!"

His brother had suddenly appeared from parts unknown, sleepily rubbing his eye. "I . . . I'm sorry, elder brother. . . . I heard you leaving and I sneaked onboard. . . . I must have fallen asleep. . . ."

Siegfried groaned. "Oh Leonhard. . . ."

Leonhard sat down next to him. "Siegfried, what is it? Please, won't you tell me what's wrong? I haven't seen you like this in a long time, and . . ." He gripped his knees. "I'm so worried about you. . . . That was why I felt I just had to come, to be here for you if you needed someone. . . ."

Siegfried was at a loss. He shook his head, propping himself up on an elbow resting against the wall. "I don't even know how to say it. I never imagined until today that such a thing could even be possible. Leonhard . . . how do I say that our father . . . may have killed someone?"

Leonhard gasped. "What?!"

"Furthermore, how do I say that if he did, it was a small child, younger than you?" Siegfried pushed himself away from the window and finally looked over at the thunderstruck boy. "How do I say that he may have decided to break Gozaburo Kaiba's spirit by deliberately and coldly murdering his only son?"

Leonhard just rocked back and stared at him, shaking, sheet-white. "No. . . ."

"We're going to Domino City right now to try to find the answer to that question," Siegfried said. "But if we learn that it's true, I don't know how we can ever cope with it. Nor how SchroederCorp could ever survive such a dark stain. The child's blood would be on our hands!" He leaned forward, covering his face with both hands.

"Siegfried . . ." Leonhard blinked back tears and reached out, laying his hands on his older brother's back. "Father wouldn't have done it! We both know it!"

"You barely knew the man, Leonhard," Siegfried said in sorrow. "He and Mother were never interested in you, only in me as the heir. They left you so shamefully alone, but I saw them day in and day out. I saw his sanity crumble! After he completely lost his mind, perhaps he would have been capable of such a heinous act. . . . And perhaps Mother knew and refused to say anything because she knew it would drag the company's reputation into the mud. All she ever cared about was high society and social graces."

Leonhard looked away. That was true, but still . . . to cover up something like this. . . .

"I want to still believe in them, Siegfried," he said. "We don't know what happened yet! Maybe there's a completely different explanation!"

"And if there isn't?" Siegfried said without hope. "We barely managed to drag SchroederCorp back from the brink after what I did at Herr Kaiba's tournament and after what Alphonse did to me when I returned home. It would never survive this!"

"Elder brother. . . ." Leonhard tightly shut his eyes and hugged him close. "It wouldn't have been our fault. We didn't know. . . ."

Siegfried pulled an arm around him. "That wouldn't make a difference," he said sadly. "Not to all the outraged and repulsed people. We are von Schroeders. We would carry the stain!"

Leonhard bit his lip. ". . . If it is true, would you tell it?" he asked.

"Even if I didn't, Herr Kaiba most certainly would," Siegfried said. "I honestly don't know what I would do if it was left up to me, Leonhard. I would rather lock it away and never speak of it. I would likely be willing to take the knowledge to my grave, especially since the man is dead and far beyond the reaches of our justice now. What purpose would there really be in going public with it? But I know you couldn't live that way, with such a horrible secret hanging over us."

Tears slipped from Leonhard's eyes. "No . . . I couldn't."

Siegfried gave a heavy sigh. "So all there is to do is find out what the truth is . . . and then brace ourselves for catastrophe."

Leonhard could only nod, and to silently pray that their father truly hadn't committed such an abominable act, even when out of his mind. Right now, he felt completely punched in the stomach and yet at the same time, numb and cold. He didn't know how to react, how to think, how to even really process what Siegfried was telling him. It just seemed too horrible, too impossible, to be true.

The plane began to descend. In the distance, the lights of Domino City were twinkling in the night sky. The brothers settled in their seats, snapping on their seatbelts for the final stage of the journey.

When the plane landed, a far more turbulent journey would begin for them.

xxxx

The police were in the process of questioning Seto and the others when the rest of the group got back to them. Mai had no choice but to add her story, which definitely disturbed everyone present.

"It was von Schroeder's chauffeur?!" Seto burst out. "Are you sure?!"

"Yes!" Mai said with impatience.

"Did he say anything to you?" Gansley asked.

"When he dragged me off he said he'd have to kill me somewhere else," Mai said. "I asked why he stabbed John Black and he said it was none of my business. It wasn't like in the movies where the crook spills everything because he likes to hear himself talk about how amazing he is. And . . . oh." Worry flashed through her eyes. "When I was jumping out of the car, I heard him swear at me and say that I'd regret that, that he'd find another way to force our hands so we'd have to stop digging into Noa's death."

"What could he have meant by that?!" Téa exclaimed in alarm.

Suddenly Seto went sheet-white. "Mokuba. . . ." He grabbed his phone and immediately dialed Mokuba's phone.

Lector looked to him with worry. Were things even worse now? Would Mokuba really be targeted by this madman? Why? What on Earth was going on?!

"Why were you digging into the Kaiba kid's death?" one officer frowned, looking to Lector.

Lector started. "Because my neighbor suddenly accused me of killing Noa on purpose," he said. "Of course I didn't, and at the time the police investigated me to make sure of it. But it made us all wonder if Noa's death really was an accidental hit-and-run."

Seto snarled. "Mokuba isn't answering his phone!" He called Marik's phone, with the same result.

"Oh no!" Téa stared at him. "You think that creep went there and kidnapped them?!"

"Maybe," Seto said. He looked to the police. "I have to go now and make sure they're safe."

"Of course, Mr. Kaiba," the other officer said. "But we'll still need the rest of your statement later."

"This is why you should leave the investigating up to the police," the first officer said with a frown.

"We had our reasons." Seto stormed to the lobby and hurried out.

"We need to go with him," Lector worried.

"All of you can go, but we'll send some officers with you," the lieutenant in charge of the investigation told him.

"That sounds great to me!" Téa said over her shoulder as she ran after Seto.

The maitre'd looked to Gansley. "Sir, you still owe us the check."

Gansley growled and quickly dug in his pocket for his checkbook. He wrote a check out with flourish, removed it, and handed it to him. "If I'm giving you more than the meal cost, you can just keep the rest," he said.

The maitre'd gawked at the amount. "Thank you, Sir!"

"Aren't you usually quite precise about money?" Atem said in surprise.

"Yes, but I don't have time to wait for the official check to be brought," Gansley retorted. He shoved the checkbook and the pen back in his pocket and pushed forward with his cane. "Lector's already in the parking lot!"

An engine roared just as they all reached the door.

"Correction—Lector is driving out of the parking lot in your limousine," Johnson exclaimed.

"Then you'll all have to come in mine," Seto barked. "Let's go!"

"I can take some of you in my car," Mai offered to Yugi's group. "That way you don't overcrowd Kaiba's car and we can all move faster."

"We can take some too," Bakura added.

"Great!" Yugi said. "Let's do it!"

They all ran into the parking lot.

xxxx

Mokuba had been growing worried for quite some time. The group had been gone too long to suit him. But when he tried to call Seto's phone, he was greeted with _No Service_ flashing across the screen. "Marik!" he cried.

Marik looked over with a start. Frowning, he took out his phone and made the same discovery. "It could be that the tower supplying this area is out," he said.

"Yeah. . . . That's the most normal explanation. But . . ." Mokuba bit his lip. "What if the explanation isn't normal at all? What if someone deliberately cut off the service just here on the property or something?"

Marik narrowed his eyes. "Then we're probably about to have company."

Almost as if on cue, the lighting in the house changed. Red flashed overhead while loud sirens wailed. "The security system's been breached!" Mokuba shrieked. He leaped up. "Come on, Marik, we have to get out of here!"

"Then we might run right into their hands," Marik said. "It might be safer to hide in one of the secret rooms."

"Only if they've messed up all this stuff, they might be able to get a map of all the secret rooms," Mokuba worried. "We need to go for help! If we can reach one of the Big Five's homes, we can call for help from there!"

Marik couldn't deny that logic. "Alright, we'll try it," he said. "But at least we'd better try using one of the secret exits."

Mokuba nodded. "Yeah."

All the lights went off when they were on the stairs going to the basement.

"Oh no," Marik snarled. "They're at the fusebox!"

"Or they're using a remote terminal to hack in," Mokuba said. "Or . . ." He swallowed hard. "They're at the supercomputer. . . ."

"But they wouldn't be able to control it, would they?" Marik looked down the stairs in the direction of the supercomputer's room.

"I don't know," Mokuba moaned. "Maybe they're trying anyway. Maybe she's the one who set off the alarms, to warn us. . . ."

"Going out this way still might be our best bet," Marik said.

Feeling across the walls, they quickly slipped down the rest of the darkened steps and past the room. Nothing happened, and they hurried on up the other stairs into the backyard.

It was pandemonium on the grounds. The guards were running about calling orders to each other and beaming their flashlights in all directions. Apparently their walkie-talkies weren't working either. Mokuba and Marik darted behind some trees.

"Now what?" Marik wondered. "Should we petition them for help?"

"It doesn't look like they could help much," Mokuba said. "Whoever's doing this must have knocked out all of their communication. Oh no!" His eyes went wide. "Everything going haywire is like what happened when Siegfried caused all that trouble at Seto's tournament!"

Marik stiffened. "You think it's him?"

"Well, he knows Seto suspects his father," Mokuba said as they slipped through the trees. "What if he found proof that his father really did kill Noa and now he's trying to cover it up?"

Marik's eyes narrowed. It certainly did look bad for him. "And just how far do you think he would go to cover it up?"

"I don't know," Mokuba said.

"Surely you don't really think he'd commit murder," Marik said.

"I don't want to think that, but if he found out his father was a murderer, he might lose his mind too!" Mokuba exclaimed.

Marik found he couldn't deny the possibility. He knew better than most how traumatic experiences or discoveries could lead to mental health issues.

It was a surprise when they managed to slip off the property without anything else going wrong, but it only served to make Marik all the more suspicious. What if they were playing right into the intruder's hands by leaving?

"What now?" he asked Mokuba.

"Well, Lector's house is the closest," Mokuba said slowly.

"But is it the safest?" Marik had to wonder. "With that neighbor across the street . . ."

"Maybe we could go around to the kitchen door, where she hopefully wouldn't see," Mokuba hoped.

Marik had a bad feeling, but he couldn't say whether it was just his own fears or not. He had to admit Mokuba's idea seemed perfectly logical. Still . . .

"Didn't you say that Crump's house is only two blocks farther away?" he said. "Why don't we go there instead?"

Mokuba bit his lip. "But . . . these are really long blocks. . . ."

"I know, and in that respect it would make more sense to go to Lector's," Marik said. "But his neighbor could make that the most dangerous place. We still don't know what happened to Noa or why or if she's really involved."

Finally Mokuba nodded. "You're right, Marik. We'd better go to Crump's."

Relieved, Marik took Mokuba's hand and they ran down the street.

They had only made it to the next block when a bullet sailed past Marik's shoulder, only narrowly missing him. Mokuba looked up with a start. "Marik!"

Marik snarled, looking over his shoulder. He couldn't see where it had come from, but judging from the angle, it looked like someone was sniping at them from either a nearby tree or a house. "Try your phone again," he directed.

Mokuba took it out. "Still nothing!" he exclaimed. "But why?! We're off the property; it should be working!"

"Maybe they have some kind of remote jamming device that will affect us wherever we go," Marik realized. "Whether this is Siegfried or not, they mean business!"

"I can't really think it's Siegfried," Mokuba said. But what if he was just fooling himself because he couldn't stand to think what would happen to Leonhard if Siegfried had completely gone insane?

A man in black leaped out of the shadows right at them. All Marik could do was shove Mokuba away from him and grab for the assailant himself. "Run, Mokuba!" he yelled.

Mokuba stared in horror as Marik gripped the man's wrists and tried to shove him back. He wanted to help, but what if the sniper would just try to shoot him down and hit Marik instead? Maybe the best thing was to keep going for help, as planned. Keeping a desperate prayer in his heart, he turned and fled.

_Please don't let Marik get hurt,_ he beseeched God. _Please!_

He had made it around the corner and onto the next block when something flew out of the shadows and hit his ankle. He gasped in pain as he went down in the road. "Ow!" he screamed. A large rock was lying near him, and he stared at it. Why would someone force him down in the street? The sniper could have shot at him instead, but . . . a rock?

His face twisted in pain as he struggled to get up and his ankle flamed in protest. He fell back to his knees. Giving up, he pulled up his pant leg to inspect the damage. It didn't seem to be broken, but it was already bruising. Another attempt to stand brought him down with scraped hands.

"Why is this happening?" he sobbed. "What's going on?!"

That was when the headlights turned on down the street, perfectly capturing Mokuba in their glare. And suddenly he knew.

"No!" In terror he struggled to crawl out of the way, but his ankle forced him down again. And now the car was starting.

Another vehicle sped to the scene just behind the murder car and stopped, the engine still running. Lector flew out of the driver's seat and ran past the other car just as it started to pick up speed.

Somehow Mokuba knew what was going to happen just before it did. "No! No, Lector, you can't!" he screamed. "There's not enough time!"

"I'm not letting it happen again," Lector snarled. "Not again! This time I can do something!" He gathered Mokuba in his arms just as the car reached them. Mokuba was right; there wasn't enough time.

He felt the car connect with his body.

Mokuba screamed as they both went flying. "Lector! _Lector!_"

Lector crashed down hard on the grass, still frantically clutching Mokuba. One weak moan escaped his lips as his grip loosened.

"Lector!" Frantic now himself, Mokuba knelt up in the grass as he searched for signs of life.

The driver of the car, angry but still determined, rolled down the window and aimed a gun at Mokuba.

Another gun shot it out of the villain's hand just in time.

Mokuba looked up with a start. Seto, Téa, and the rest of the Big Five had just arrived in Seto's limousine. Seto was holding Gansley's gun, his expression filled with rage as he stared down the would-be murderer. "Get out of the car, you filth," he snarled.

Instead the man moved to rev the engine and try to go past him.

Seto responded by shooting out the two front tires. "Out! Now!"

Fixing him with a hateful stare, the man finally got out. Nesbitt ran forward, snatching him by his coat. "You just ran him down like he was nothing!" he screamed. "We were all driving up. We saw it!" He gave the wretch a violent shake. "You killed my best friend!"

Gansley was too enraged to point out that they didn't know if Lector was dead. If Nesbitt tried to punch out or beat up this abomination, Gansley couldn't honestly say he would try to stop him this time.

"And you were going to kill Mokuba!" Seto added. "When KaibaCorp gets done with you, you're going to wish you'd never been born!"

The police pulled up then and ran over to arrest the unapologetic and sullen man. Mokuba turned away, blinking back tears as he choked on a sob. "Lector . . . please don't die," he begged. "Please don't. . . ." He bent down and hugged him. "You couldn't bear to see another kid hit by a car. You couldn't be put through that again. But . . . please don't put me in the place you were in when Noa died! Lector . . ."

He burrowed against Lector's shoulder and cried.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

The last thing Siegfried and Leonhard expected to see upon landing in Domino City were several plainclothesmen and uniformed police officers gathered just to the side of the landing strip. As the brothers got off the plane and approached, one of the plainclothesmen held out his badge. "Siegfried von Schroeder?"

"Yes," Siegfried said slowly. "What is all this?"

"I'm Lieutenant Richards from the Homicide Department," was the reply. "I have to ask you to come with us to Headquarters for questioning."

"What?!" Leonhard shrieked. "Why?!"

"Suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, for starters," Richards said.

"I see." Siegfried's eyes narrowed. "Am I under arrest, Lieutenant?"

"Not yet. But I have to tell you that it doesn't look good for you." Richards led them to an unmarked police car and opened the back door. "Someone hacked into the Kaiba Manor's security system tonight and made the whole thing go berserk. Mr. Kaiba tells us you're more than capable of doing that very thing, and that you even hacked into the mansion's security as a young boy."

"I was bored," Siegfried retorted. "But I didn't do anything that hurt anyone!"

"Maybe not then," Richards agreed. "But the entire world saw what you did at Mr. Kaiba's Grand Championship tournament. Please get in."

Siegfried agreeably slid into the car. Leonhard wasn't feeling so agreeable.

"This isn't fair!" he cried. "My brother didn't do anything to the Kaiba Manor tonight! We were coming here to try to find out what happened to Noa Kaiba in the past. Siegfried was sick about it!"

"Maybe that's true," Richards said, "but under the circumstances your brother is a person of interest. Someone did all that with the security system to drive Mokuba Kaiba and a friend of his out of the house to be attacked."

Leonhard rocked back. "Are they alright?!"

"Mostly, but another man was hit by a car rescuing Mokuba from that fate," Richards said. "The man driving that car was your family's chauffeur, August Bernhardt."

Leonhard choked. "W-What?!"

Siegfried leaned out of the car again. "He's been on his vacation," he exclaimed. "He wasn't acting on orders from me!"

"That's what he says too, but we still want you to come down for questioning," Richards said.

Leonhard scrambled into the car next to Siegfried and an officer sat next to them. Richards got into the front with another officer and the car began to drive away.

"This is a nightmare," Leonhard moaned. "What does he say about why he tried to kill Mokuba?!"

"He doesn't say," Richards said. "He said he won't talk to anybody but Mr. von Schroeder. He doesn't even want a lawyer. You have to admit, that also looks pretty suspicious."

Siegfried's heart dropped. It did indeed. But now he feared more than ever that their father had killed Noa. Maybe their chauffeur knew it and was going to extreme lengths to cover it up. He leaned forward in despair. _Oh Father, what did you do?_

Leonhard reached and gripped Siegfried's hand. "Maybe we need our lawyer," he worried.

"Let's find out more about what has happened first," Siegfried said, wrapping his fingers around Leonhard's hand. "If August will tell me what this is about, it may clear us."

Leonhard bit his lip. "Maybe. . . ." And he was worried about Mokuba too. He reached for his phone. "Mokuba is my friend. May I text him?"

"Go ahead," Richards said. "But Officer Denton will watch what you type."

Scowling, Leonhard opened the Messenger program and the conversation with Mokuba.

_Mokuba, are you okay?!_

There was no reply.

"He's probably occupied with worrying about his friend who got struck saving him," Officer Denton said.

"Is he dead?!" Leonhard exclaimed.

"We don't have any word on his condition," Richards said.

Leonhard bit his lip. ". . . Did Mokuba know you were coming to get Siegfried?" Maybe Mokuba thought Siegfried had done it too. Maybe he even thought Leonhard had been on it. That could be why he wasn't answering. . . .

"Only Mr. Kaiba knew," Officer Denton said. "His friend Ms. Valentine tried to call Mr. von Schroeder and the maid told her he was on his way here. Mr. Kaiba requested we pick him up on arrival."

Siegfried sighed. "I see." He straightened. Seto no doubt thought he was guilty. He couldn't even say it was unreasonable, especially since Seto knew that Siegfried and Leonhard's father was a suspect in Noa's murder. But even with all the terrible things he had done during Seto's tournament, Siegfried had made sure that none of the malfunctioning equipment would endanger the lives of the patrons. He never would have set up everything that had happened tonight. He never would have tried to kill little Mokuba.

At last Leonhard gave up thinking Mokuba might answer. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and slumped back against the seat, staring out hopelessly at the night sky. What were they ever going to do?

xxxx

Mokuba was in the waiting room at the KaibaCorp Medical Center, sitting between Seto and Marik as he held a bag of ice to his ankle. The traces of heartbroken tears were still on his face, but at the moment he was trying not to cry. Lector was still alive. He tried to cling to that with hope, but what he had been told about Noa's death still left him terrified. Noa had been alive up to this point as well.

Téa was sitting on Seto's other side, her eyes filled with her helpless and sick emotions. She wanted to tell Mokuba that Lector would pull through, but right now no one knew how badly he had been injured.

"It must be like deja vu for the rest of the Big Five," she said softly. Most were standing, but Gansley was sitting down out of necessity. He gripped his cane, staring off into the distance with devastated eyes. Right now, he looked far older than he even was.

Seto gripped the arms of the chair. "If it hadn't been for Lector, we wouldn't have even made it in time," he berated. "Lector running off with Gansley's car saved Mokuba's life."

Mokuba looked up. "You saved me too, Seto," he insisted. "That creep was going to shoot me and you showed up just in time to stop that. And Marik saved me from the sniper. . . ."

"If only I had known what they really had in mind," Marik said sadly. "We would have been better off staying in the house."

"Maybe not," Seto said. "I'm sure that crumb had a back-up plan. If you hadn't come out, he probably would have broke in with his hired assassins to kill Mokuba in the house."

The doors burst open and Mai's and Bakura's groups rushed inside.

"What happened?!" Joey cried. "We got your message to come here instead of going back to the house!"

"Oh Joey. . . ." Téa got up and went over to them. "It's awful. . . ." She didn't even try to brush aside the forming tears. "Siegfried's chauffeur tried to run Mokuba down in the street. Lector saved him, but now he was hit by the car!"

"What?!" Joey screamed. "So Siegfreak did this?!"

Mokuba looked up with a jerk. "No! I'm sure he didn't!"

"Well, I'm not," Joey snarled. "That crumb would probably do anything to cover up the family skeletons!"

"You said it," Tristan darkly agreed.

"Hold on, guys," Yugi interrupted. "I think we should give him the benefit of a doubt."

Mokuba firmly nodded. "The chauffeur said he was acting on his own!"

"Siegfried probably told him to say that," Tristan said in disgust. "Naturally he'd try to keep himself out of it."

"But . . . Siegfried can't have done it," Mokuba said helplessly. "Then Leon will be all alone. . . ." He turned away, fighting back a new round of tears.

"He deserves better anyway," Tristan said.

Marik frowned, drawing an arm around Mokuba. "You're making it worse," he scolded.

"Yeah! Usually you're always telling Duke that he's too negative," Téa frowned.

Tristan scowled and turned away. "I don't like the guy, okay? And I'm not alone in that. Joey and Duke don't like him either."

"I don't think any of us are really that fond of him," Solomon spoke up. "But that doesn't mean he's a murderer."

Across the room, Gansley clutched his cane tighter and looked away. He didn't know what to believe. All he knew was that they had all seen Mokuba sprawled helplessly in the road with that madman's car barreling down on him. Lector had run out to save him just in time, only to be run down himself. Gansley would never forget the sight of Lector's body flying through the air. He could only pray that landing on the grass had reduced the severity of at least some of his injuries.

Nesbitt snarled. "If Siegfried von Schroeder was the mastermind behind this, I'm going to kill him!"

"Then you would be killed in turn, or locked up for life," Gansley scolded. "None of us want that."

"Don't pretend you wouldn't want to see him dead too!" Nesbitt snapped. "You wanted to kill Martin Cove."

"I know," Gansley said. "But I want to see all of us stay together far more."

"We don't even know if that's going to happen!" Nesbitt screamed.

"Well, it had better happen!" Crump finally roared back. "Téa's right, this really is deja vu for us! Only I'm not gonna stand here and have a doctor come out and tell us that Lector isn't gonna survive the night, like he did when it was Noa!"

"And what if that's what happens?!" Johnson spoke up in despair. "Are we all going to fall apart and let this break up all the rest of us?!"

"Don't any of you even care why this happened?!" Nesbitt boomed. "Everyone responsible for this has to be brought to justice!"

"And they will be," Gansley said, an edge creeping into his voice. "Nesbitt, you're letting your heartbreak get the best of you again. You need to calm down before it gets worse."

"And that's so easy for you to say, isn't it?!" Nesbitt countered. "You never snap, never break, except once against that creature Yami Marik!"

"And you don't want to see me do it again." Gansley's voice was still completely even, but the danger in it had increased.

"Hey, Gansley. . . ." Crump looked to their leader in concern now. "Come on, we all know you'd never hurt Nesbitt. . . ."

"No, but I might decide to go strike the von Schroeder chauffeur down right in his jail cell and to blue blazes with what happens to me afterwards!" Gansley rose to his feet, his green eyes flashing.

"No!" Nesbitt exclaimed.

"Why not?" Gansley spat. "It's what you want to do yourself."

"But you're our leader!" Nesbitt protested. "You can't throw your life away like that!"

"And you can do that with yours?" Gansley shot back. He reached and gripped Nesbitt's shoulder. "Don't you dare think you are expendable!"

"That's right!" Crump chimed in.

"Nesbitt, we all love you so much," Johnson said. "You know that even if you can't understand why. Don't put us through any more Hell than we're already going through!"

The fire faded from Nesbitt's eyes at last. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean . . . I never mean . . ."

"We know." Gansley drew Nesbitt into a tired but sincere hug. "You're just so distraught about Lector."

Nesbitt clutched him close. "Lector was right," he realized. "He told me that he's not the only one I have trouble with. When you were hurt and I was arguing with Lector again, he told me the exact same thing would happen if he was the one hurt and you were the one protesting some of my actions. I didn't really believe him. But . . . I don't know if this makes me feel better or worse. . . ."

Gansley sighed. "You'll have to work that out for yourself. Although I should think it would give you some level of comfort that you don't just exclusively target Lector to vent your frustrations."

"I guess," Nesbitt said. "But I don't like that I do it to any of you. . . ." He trailed off and shut his eyes tightly as he clutched Gansley in desperation. "I'm just so afraid we're going to lose Lector," he choked out. "I couldn't stand it without him! I know that. . . ."

Gansley knew it too. Nesbitt would never recover. But then, none of them would. They all loved Lector.

The doctor entering the waiting room brought everyone to attention.

"How is he?!" Mokuba demanded. He both wanted and dreaded to know. But they had to know. . . .

Crump drew a shaking breath, praying not to hear the words the doctor had said those years ago about Noa, or anything else just as bad. Lector had to be okay. . . .

Johnson and Gansley took his hands and gently squeezed. They remembered how badly shaken Crump had been that night. All of them had been distraught, seeing Lector suffer and not being able to help. Lector had been suffering emotionally then. Now he was still suffering, physically.

Nesbitt tensely watched the doctor. He didn't look grim, like that night. He was just calmly folding his stethoscope and putting it in his pocket. Surely he wouldn't be that casual if . . .

The doctor shook his head. "He's a tough man. No broken bones, no serious internal injuries. . . . The car, however, bruised him very badly. And he apparently hit his head on something hard when he went down. Otherwise, he probably would have stayed conscious."

"Poor Lector," Téa worried.

Nesbitt growled. "He's not awake, is he."

"No," the doctor admitted.

"Does it look like he will be?" Gansley demanded.

"We can only hope," the doctor sighed. "If all of you want to go in and be with him . . ."

"We do," Gansley said.

"Me too, Seto," Mokuba said, pleadingly looking up at Seto, who sighed.

"Alright, but if he doesn't wake up soon, I'm taking you home to bed." Seto stood and took Mokuba in his arms to carry him to the room. He needed to stay off his ankle as much as possible for at least a day or two. Seto certainly didn't mind carrying him, and although Mokuba might be slightly embarrassed, he really still liked it.

"I don't think I'd sleep anyway," Mokuba said.

Gansley doubted any of them would. One thing they all liked about Seto's medical center was that there were no visiting hour limitations. Loved ones could stay as long as they wanted. And "loved ones" meant just that; rather than biological family and romantic partners only, it also included dear friends. Seto, and even Gozaburo before him, felt that if anyone was around whom the victim truly loved, it could speed up their recovery, so it was only logical to allow them to stay.

The doctor led them down the hall and pushed open a door. Lector was laying on the bed, very quiet and still. But he was breathing.

Gansley went over to him and gently pulled the edges of his pajama top together to hide the sight of the bruises. Another thing they appreciated about this medical center was that hospital gowns were not mandatory. Patients could choose to wear their own clothes, and of course they knew Lector would never stand for the indignity of a hospital gown. Crump had quickly collected some clothes from Lector's house when they had been on their way here.

The other members of the Big Five gathered around the bed. Nesbitt gripped the metal railing.

"Hey, Buddy," Crump said softly, laying a hand on Lector's shoulder. "We're all gonna be right with you until you wake up. Okay?"

"You'd just better wake up," Nesbitt growled.

Seto gently laid Mokuba down at the side of the bed and stepped back. Mokuba, not wanting to hurt Lector by accidentally hitting any of the bruises, stayed close to the metal railing. But he did move his arm around Lector's shoulders and look up sadly at him from the pillow. "Please wake up, Lector," he begged.

"He's going to be okay," Téa said from the doorway. "He has to be. . . ."

Everyone felt the same. But that didn't change how worried they were that maybe it wouldn't happen this time.

xxxx

_Lector sped around the corner in his car, desperate to reach Noa in time. He could hear the vehicle barreling up ahead, and Noa shrieking in terror, but he hadn't been hit yet. Somehow, miraculously, Lector pulled up before it happened. He ran forward, lifting Noa into his arms just as the car was coming._

_But he wasn't able to save himself. The car struck him hard and he flew up on the hood before falling off to the ground. The driver just kept going._

"_Lector?!"_

_Noa sounded terrified. Lector hadn't expected that. His eyes were half-open, but he wasn't really focusing on anything. He could only see and hear through a thick fog._

"_Lector!" Noa ran over and crashed down beside him. The child's voice was trembling. Was he actually . . . crying? Was it possible?_

"_Lector, I'm so sorry!" Noa sobbed. "I don't hate you. Please don't die, Lector. . . . Please don't. . . ."_

_Lector didn't know if he was going to die or not, but he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness at the very least._

_xxxx_

_It was surreal and unsettling. He was lying in an open coffin and people were all around. He had indeed died, and was experiencing his own wake._

_Most of the rest of the Big Five stayed close to him, sometimes talking to each other, sometimes too heartbroken to speak. Nesbitt had never come close; he couldn't bear to see Lector dead and yet looking like he was only sleeping._

_Noa was trying and failing to keep himself composed. The tears kept flowing from his eyes no matter how he tried to stop them. "I treated him like dirt and he still did this!" he choked out._

_Nesbitt couldn't take it. "It's your fault he's dead, you little brat!" he snarled as he spun to glare daggers at the child._

_A gasp went up from some of those present. Concern flickered in Gansley's eyes. "Nesbitt!"_

_Noa didn't even flinch. "I know!" he sobbed. "It's all my fault!" He ran under the coffin and collapsed on the floor in tears._

xxxx

Lector slowly opened his eyes. He was laying in a void, an area of dark purple nothingness. Was this . . . death? He really had been hit by a car, but when saving Mokuba, not Noa. His mind had crafted all that nonsense about Noa really caring if Lector had been killed saving him. Noa hated him. He wouldn't have cared.

But Mokuba certainly cared. It sickened Lector to think of how that poor child must have reacted to him being struck. There hadn't been anything else to do, but Mokuba was no doubt traumatized by how it had ended up. And the rest of the Big Five . . . Nesbitt especially. . . . Lector could only pray that Nesbitt would not blow up like that at Mokuba.

He sat up, badly shaken. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone here?" He didn't want to be dead! He wasn't ready! And . . . there were so many people who really would be crushed by his death. . . . He would have to beg and plead to be allowed to go back, if anyone would ever come for him.

He got to his feet, looking around in desperation. "Please God, no," he whispered. This didn't look like any afterlife he had ever read about. But . . . maybe it was the only kind he deserved. . . .

"Lector?"

He jumped a mile at the voice. "Noa . . . ?" But . . . no, that couldn't be. . . . His mind must be playing tricks on him again. . . .

"Lector, I'm so sorry for everything I did to you. You've been hurting all these years, blaming yourself for my death. I wonder . . . I wonder if I blamed you too. . . . Maybe that was part of why I treated you and the others so badly when we met again. That, and how hateful and jealous I felt that you had each other. You all complained of how horrible it was in virtual reality, but none of you were alone, like I was. You were always together, and I hated you for it. I'm so sorry."

Lector stared. There was a light in front of him, and now it was forming into the shape of Noa Kaiba. He looked as Lector remembered him last, in his uniform. His eyes, however, were far more innocent than in the virtual world.

"Noa . . . ?" Lector whispered. "What happened?" A cold chill went up his spine. "Am I . . . dead?" He, oddly enough, had cheated death more than once, even though he had been injured on multiple occasions and had been thought dead at least once. He had never really been dead. . . .

"No, you're not dead," Noa said. "But you were hurt protecting Mokuba. You've all been trying so hard to find out who killed me, and now you've uncovered someone who won't stop until you're all dead. I don't want to be the cause of so much pain."

"You aren't," Lector said, still stunned to hear the boy speaking like this. "What happened wasn't your fault. We still don't even know what happened or why it happened." He studied Noa with a frown. "But if I'm not imagining that you're here, don't you know by now?"

Noa looked down. "I know," he agreed, "but I'm not allowed to tell you. Except . . ." He looked up again. "Siegfried von Schroeder didn't have anything to do with any of it, including what happened tonight! You'll tell Seto, won't you?"

"I'll tell him," Lector said in surprise, "but will he believe that I was actually talking to you?"

"He might," Noa said. He hesitated, then slowly came forward and embraced Lector. "You tried so hard to keep me safe. I know that now. I'm sorry it took me so long to see it. Thank you for everything, Lector."

Lector just stared at him. If he had been stunned before, he was completely floored now. "Noa. . . ."

"I know . . . that if you'd found me in time that night, you really would have taken the hit yourself to save me, if you had to," Noa said. "Even though you didn't like me and didn't have any reason to."

". . . That's true," Lector admitted.

Tears filled Noa's eyes. "You were one of the best friends I could have ever had, but I never recognized it until now. I squandered my life. I thought I knew what was important, but I never did." The tears slipped free, sliding down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Lector. I know you can never forgive me, but I needed you to know that I finally appreciate you . . . even though now it's too late."

Lector stared at him. He could tell Noa was sincere. He truly had changed. Lector had never really thought he could forgive Noa's treatment of him either, but now, in spite of himself, he felt the anger and hurt that had built up so long starting to melt away at last. Finally he reached out and put his arms around the child who had been so disrespectful and hateful towards him in the past.

"It's not too late," he said. "I . . . I do forgive you."

Noa stared up at him in awe. "Really?"

"Really," Lector said, and he knew he meant it.

They stayed like that for a moment. The forgiveness was healing for both of them, and now that they were finally coming to an understanding, they didn't really want to immediately pull away. Instead they were trying to capture some of what they might have had, had they been able to get along better when Noa was alive. Hopeless wishes, but it felt good for that moment.

At last Noa was the one who stepped back. "You have to go back now, Lector. Everyone's worried about you."

"I'm glad I can go back," Lector said. "But I am still so sorry you can't."

Noa tried to smile. "It's alright, Lector. Really. I finally accepted my fate. You'll tell Mom I'm okay, won't you?"

Lector bowed his head. "Of course."

"She'll believe you," Noa assured him. "And please, tell Mokuba . . ."

Lector heard Noa's last message echoing through his mind as the void faded into the sounds of a heart monitor. _Beep . . . beep . . . beep. . . ._

Lector groaned, forcing his eyes open. He was laying on a hospital bed, thankfully in his pajamas. Mokuba was on the bed with him and the rest of the Big Five were gathered around him.

"Lector!" Mokuba exclaimed in joy and relief. "Are you okay?!" He quickly sat up.

"I . . ." Lector looked over at the heart monitor. "How badly am I hurt?"

"It could've been a lot worse!" Crump exclaimed. "Bruises everywhere, even on some of your ribs!"

Lector grimaced. "I see. . . ."

Nesbitt growled. "And a bump on your head. That's why you were unconscious." He gripped the railing.

"Will I have to stay here?" Lector wondered.

"I'll talk to the doctor," Gansley said. He smiled at their dear friend. "You're awake and coherent, so you may be allowed to go home if we watch you carefully tonight."

"Something we're all getting quite adept at doing," Johnson remarked. He smiled too, relieved that Lector was awake.

"Thank you," Lector rasped. He hesitated. ". . . I saw Noa. . . ." He looked over at Mokuba, who gasped.

"Do you think it was real?" Nesbitt couldn't help asking.

"I would like to believe so," Lector said. "He was sorry for what he did to hurt me . . . and all of you. And Mokuba, he wanted me to tell you that he's happy now, and to thank you for not forgetting him."

Tears pricked Mokuba's eyes. He hugged Lector's hand close to him, not daring to embrace him further for fear of hitting the bruises.

"Thanks, Lector," he said softly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

Siegfried really didn't know what to expect when he arrived at the police station and was led down the hall towards one of the interrogation rooms. He was dreading with all his heart what his chauffeur would say, but he knew he had to hear it. And based on what it was, he might still get arrested.

"I want to be there too," Leonhard spoke up.

"Then he might not talk," Richards said. "He only wants your brother. But we're going to be listening on the other side of a two-way mirror, of course. You can listen with us."

Leonhard bit his lip but nodded. "Okay. . . ."

Siegfried laid a hand on Leonhard's shoulder, but had nothing to say. He certainly couldn't tell his brother that everything was going to be alright. Right now, he had no idea whether it would or could be or not.

"Mr. Kaiba will be there too," Richards said.

Leonhard jumped. "Did he say how Mokuba is?!"

"I don't know; I've been with you two all the way here," Richards said. "When we go in, you can ask him."

"Thank you," Leonhard said quietly.

Richards stopped walking and opened the door to the interrogation room. "Alright, Bernhardt," he said gruffly. "We brought your boss. Now you'd better talk to him as you promised."

Siegfried stepped into the room and the door closed behind him. "Well, August? What do you have to say for yourself?" He stared coldly at the man who had been the family's chauffeur for so many years. He didn't look any different, at least not at first. When he met Siegfried's gaze, the businessman felt his blood chill. There was no remorse in those eyes.

"I tried to kill Mokuba Kaiba. Earlier tonight, I stabbed John Black." August laced his fingers together on the table in front of him.

"Who?" Siegfried stared at him.

"Just some local businessman, Sir. No one you would know. But I was afraid he was going to reveal everything." August shook his head. "I thought I'd tied up all the loose ends. . . . Then suddenly, I find out that Noa Kaiba's death is being looked into again because that wretched woman decided to accuse Démas Lector of killing the brat. I had to stop the investigation at all costs!"

Siegfried frowned. "You're still not making sense, August. Unless . . ." He drew a shaking breath. "Unless my father killed Noa Kaiba?"

Finally some emotion. August stared at Siegfried in shock and horror. "No! How could you think that about your father?!"

"I never did until today!" Siegfried exclaimed. He slammed his hand on the table. "What is this?! Why would you go to such lengths to cover up the boy's death if my father didn't do it?!"

"Because I did it," August said at last.

The color drained from Siegfried's face. "What?"

"We were near Domino City that night and your father was reading about another achievement of KaibaCorp's. I couldn't stand to see him pushing himself towards a nervous breakdown trying to best Gozaburo Kaiba. I wanted to do something to completely break the man's spirit so Herr von Schroeder would have the chance to get ahead that he so richly deserved."

Siegfried fell back. "So you decided to murder his son?!" He felt dizzy and sick. Even if his father hadn't done this, it was still a horrible stain on the family and the company. And he had trusted August. To think that he had been living with a murderer all these years and he hadn't even known it . . . !

August nodded. "I drove around the area and found to my delight that the boy was arguing with his caretaker. I waited in the shadows until he ran away, then I quietly followed him without the headlights on."

Siegfried brought a shaking hand to his forehead. "Don't tell me any more about the actual murder," he pleaded.

"After it was done, I was trying to drive away when I crashed into that idiot woman from Domino Heights," August growled. "She had been right on the block when it happened! I realized she had likely seen what I had done and that was why she ended up driving into me, so I followed her back to her sister-in-law's home. She was so badly injured that she didn't seem to know up from down, and I decided to convince her husband and her sister-in-law that she had hit the boy and they would have to keep quiet to protect her. They both agreed, and I thought everything was over!"

"So you don't know why Herr Lector was suddenly accused of killing Noa?" Siegfried frowned.

"No, I do not. But I knew that the woman's husband's friend, John Black, hadn't been happy about keeping quiet. If he told what he knew, that I had been the one to tell them I'd seen her hitting the boy, then suspicion might turn to me. So I stabbed him tonight."

Siegfried clenched a fist. He didn't want to hear any more, but there was one other thing he had to know. "My father," he said. "Did my father know what you had done?"

"Not at first," August said. "I didn't tell him until Gozaburo adopted those other kids. Then I went to him and confessed what I'd done. I apologized for my failure; I hadn't known Gozaburo would go out and get another heir."

"And how did my father react?" Siegfried asked.

August looked away. "The knowledge that I had murdered a child drove him insane."

Siegfried choked. "W-What?! But . . . he went insane from not being able to beat the Kaibas!"

August shook his head. "No. That was what everyone thought, and it was better to let it stay that way. But that was not the reason. I always have to carry the knowledge and the burden with me that it was my fault."

Now Siegfried had to turn away, whispering a shocked exclamation under his breath. This flew in the face of everything he had believed for years. Could the man possibly be lying, shouldering the blame to exonerate his former boss? As much as Siegfried didn't want to believe that August was the guilty party, he wanted to believe it about his father even less. So in that respect, he wanted to believe August was telling the truth.

Siegfried's phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out with a curious frown and found himself looking at a text from Leonhard.

_Elder brother. . . . Our father is innocent! I'm so glad,_

_even though this is a horrible truth about August. How_

_could he have done it?!_

_Mr. Kaiba wants you to ask him about a dog hood ornament_

_and some kind of dancing hula figurine, if Noa could have_

_seen those things that night._

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, but slipped the phone back in his pocket. "Tell me, August. Did or could Noa have seen a dog hood ornament and a dancing hula girl the night you . . . the night it happened?"

August looked away, his expression darkening. "There was a golden dog hood ornament on my car. I think that woman's car had a hula girl. I'm sure Noa saw my hood ornament, but I don't know about the hula girl. If Herr Lector said Noa talked about it, then I suppose he must have seen it."

"One more thing," Siegfried said. By now his tone was like ice. "The security system at Herr Kaiba's manor tonight. Did you cause that?"

"No, Sir," August said. "One of the people I hired did that."

"It's one of the reasons the police and Herr Kaiba decided to assume I might be involved," Siegfried said. "I do not appreciate it."

"I'm sorry, Sir," August said. "I never intended for you to get mixed up in this."

Siegfried gave a curt nod. "Thank you for telling me all of this, August." He turned to head for the door.

". . . You won't cover any of this up, will you, Sir?" August asked. From his resigned tone, he already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear it said.

"No, I will not," Siegfried coolly responded. "Needless to say, August, you have thoroughly disappointed me. But at least Leonhard and I won't have to worry any more about our father's involvement." With that he walked out of the room and into the corridor.

The next door opened and Seto and Leonhard emerged, along with Richards. "Well, he's a piece of work, to say the least," Richards said in disgust.

Seto gave an equally repulsed grunt.

"You'll let my brother go now, won't you?!" Leonhard demanded.

"Yeah. We've got no reason to hold him," Richards said.

Seto turned away. "And I have to get back to the medical center. I need to get Mokuba home."

"Tell me, Herr Kaiba, what are you going to do about the other branch of this case?" Siegfried wondered. "Apparently there is still at least one villain at large—whoever is trying to harm the Big Five's project by letting Herr Lector be accused of this terrible crime."

"I know," Seto frowned. "And I do have an idea for how to deal with it . . . not that it involves you in the least."

"Well, we are mixed up in this quite heavily, even though none of us like that fact," Siegfried said. "So perhaps we have a right to know?"

Seto was unmoved. "The walls might have ears. I don't want to talk about it here. I'll see you later, von Schroeder. Leonhard."

"Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Kaiba," Siegfried answered, brushing a long strand of hair over his shoulder.

xxxx

When Seto first arrived back at the medical center, he inquired at the front desk about John Black's condition. Since at least one party who had been threatening Mr. Thorton had been calling on Black's phone, Seto was certain Black knew what was going on regardless of whether he was personally involved. Seto had been formulating a plan on the ride back here, but if Black could and would talk, it might not be necessary to implement it.

The receptionist quickly looked through her records. "He's going to pull through, Mr. Kaiba, but he's heavily sedated. Even if he's awake, he might not be any help to you."

"I want to speak with him anyway," Seto said. "Just in case."

She nodded. "He's in room 403."

Seto quickly headed in that direction. When he found the room and pushed the door open, John Black was staring up at the ceiling with bleary eyes. Seto strode inside. "Can you hear me?" he demanded.

Black slowly turned to look at him.

"We know who stabbed you," Seto said. "Do you know why they did it?"

Black nodded.

"Alright. I'll cut right to the point. Were you threatening a man named Thorton?"

Another nod.

"Why?" Seto glowered at him. "And you'd better tell me the whole truth."

Finally Black parted his lips. After running his tongue over them, he said, "To keep him in line."

"In line about what?" Seto snapped.

"The plan to ruin the Big Five," Black replied.

"Are you in charge of that plan?" Seto demanded.

"I'm just part of it," Black said. "But I want to see them suffer."

"You're going to be suffering now," Seto countered. "You'd better talk. Who else is involved? And why do you want to hurt them?"

Black sneered at him. "I'm not saying anything more, and you can't make me."

"I have ways," Seto responded, his voice cold.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Black countered. "After all they did to you, you should want them to suffer. But you even preserved their bodies so they could come back to them if they ever got out of the virtual world!"

"I'm not a murderer," Seto said. "And they've proved they want to live honestly now. I have no reason to try to stop them."

"And here I thought you were somebody who clung to his hate," Black said.

"I don't have time for this." Seto stormed to the door. "But I'm going to find out what you're not telling me."

"I'm sure you will," Black agreed. "But will they be alive when you do?"

Seto's lip curled and he stalked into the hall, Black's dark laughter following him until the door shut behind him.

xxxx

The Big Five were getting ready to leave when Seto strode back into Lector's room.

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Where did you go?!"

"I'll tell you in a minute, little brother," Seto said. "Where I went affects all of you. But I want to say something else first. Someone who hates you people is still out there." He looked to each of the Big Five in turn. "We don't know who it is or why, or what they might try next."

"We've been thinking about that," Gansley said. "I was about to suggest that it might be wisest to pretend that the von Schroeder chauffeur succeeded in murdering Lector, at least for the time being. Let's see how this person reacts to that."

Lector's eyes flickered with his surprise, but he didn't offer an objection.

Seto actually looked impressed. "That was my thought. So if you're taking Lector out of here, you'll need to go to a house other than his."

"Let's go to mine," Nesbitt gruffly said.

Lector smiled a bit. "That's fine with me."

Mokuba bit his lip. "You guys be careful," he said. "I don't know if I can keep up an act like that, pretending Lector got killed. It was horrible enough worrying that it would happen. . . ."

"I know," Lector said kindly. "I am so sorry I had to put everyone through that."

"Yugi and the others can know," Seto said. "I doubt we could do this without them knowing. You probably won't see anyone other than them for as long as we'll have to keep this up, Mokuba. You need to stay home until your ankle is healed."

"Oh. Yeah. . . ." Mokuba sighed.

"As for where I was . . ." Seto looked to Mokuba and Lector in particular. "I now know what happened to Noa and why."

They both stiffened. "What happened, Mr. Kaiba?!" Lector exclaimed.

"I'll get Yugi and the rest and tell all of you at the same time," Seto said.

"They're back in the waiting room," Gansley said. "They all came in to see Lector and then left again to give us a chance to talk among ourselves."

Seto nodded. "I figured."

Within five minutes he was expounding what the chauffeur had told Siegfried at the police station. Everyone listened in a mix of growing and sickened horror. At the conclusion, they were all outraged and Mokuba was crying.

"Poor Noa," he whispered. "That's so awful!"

Marik held him close, his lavender eyes aflame with rage.

Lector was shaken, not even sure how to react. Gansley laid a hand on his shoulder. "At least now you know the truth," he said quietly.

Lector could only nod. "Yes. . . . Now I know. . . ."

Joey punched the wall. "Man, that's low!" he snarled. "That's beyond low! If I could just have five minutes alone with that guy. . . ."

"No kidding," Tristan agreed, his expression dark. "There's no excuse for this."

"There sure isn't," Téa said in fury.

Yugi just shook his head. He was completely floored and horrified.

Atem laid a hand on his shoulder. He knew they would be talking a great deal about this later.

"I also went to talk to John Black," Seto continued. "He didn't deny that he wants to ruin all of you, but he said he's not the mastermind. He refused to say why he's after you. Are you absolutely sure you don't know who he is?!"

"None of us know," Johnson insisted. "We've all tried and tried to think."

"Then I suggest all of you except Lector come with me and see what he looks like," Seto said. "Maybe he's changed his name but you'll still recognize him."

"Go ahead," Lector said. "I'll wait here."

The other four left the room with Seto and went back to room 403. John Black was asleep again from the pain medication, but the group gathered around the bed and studied him with a collective frown.

"I'm afraid I still don't recognize him," Johnson said.

Gansley shook his head. "My mind is a complete blank."

Nesbitt didn't speak, but from his expression, he was also baffled.

Crump took out his phone and snapped a picture. He would show it to Lector when they got back to his room.

"What about this?" Seto suggested. "Maybe you never knew him, but someone he cared about, and he thinks you wronged that person."

"That could be anyone," Nesbitt said in frustration.

"Well, keep thinking," Seto barked. "We have to get to the bottom of this if you all intend to stay alive, and I don't intend to have any more of you dying on me." This he said for Black's benefit, in case he was conscious enough to hear. If they were going to pretend Lector was dead, Black definitely had to think so.

"Let's get outta here," Crump said in disgust.

They left and returned to Lector's side. He was resting on the bed, fully dressed and eager to go to Nesbitt's home to recuperate. "Well?" he asked.

Crump held up his phone. "None of us know him. What do you think, Buddy?"

Lector looked at the image with a deep frown. "I don't recognize him either."

"This is nuts!" Joey burst out. "This guy's after you and none of you even know who he is?!"

"So sue us, Joseph," Johnson said dryly.

"You can think about it more on the way to Nesbitt's place," Seto said. "You should get out of here before any more time goes by. Meanwhile, I'll have people watching Black's room just in case some of his friends come to visit."

"That's a good idea, Kaiba," Atem said.

Téa nodded. "Stay safe, you guys." She looked to Yugi worriedly. This would be the end of her time with the Kaibas for tonight; it looked like Yugi definitely needed the support of friends right now.

Lector thought so too. "Yugi, are you alright?" he said in concern.

Yugi started. "Oh. . . ." He drew a shaking breath. "Yeah, I'll be okay. It's just . . . I'm so upset about what happened to Noa." He clenched his fists. "I could say it's just not right, but we all know that. I don't know what to say, or how to react, or anything. I guess deep down, I kept thinking it either had to be an accident or that maybe someone like Siegfried's dad did it when he was out of his mind. I never really thought it would be anything like this."

"Me either," Mokuba said softly.

"I think we're all going to be shaken about this for a long time," Marik said. And Noa had only been ten, the same age as Mokuba . . . and the same age as Marik had been when he had been forced to undergo the Tombkeeper Initiation. . . .

"No kidding," Crump said. Only one person at a time would need to watch over Lector, but he imagined they would all be staying awake and talking. It was going to be hard to sleep with this horrific truth hanging over them.

"We'd better go," Gansley quietly interjected. The longer they waited, the more likely they might have problems getting out without Lector being seen.

"Yes." Lector slowly eased himself off the bed and into the wheelchair for the trip into the parking garage and the limousine. He would rather walk under his own power, but he really was in pain and he knew it would slow them all down. It would be better to travel like this for a few minutes.

Nesbitt positioned himself behind the wheelchair to push Lector on the journey. "Is anyone watching?"

Johnson opened the door. "The hallway is clear," he reported.

"I guess it being so late does have some advantages," Joey mused.

They made it to Seto's private elevator without incident, and also into the parking garage without being seen.

Mokuba watched from Seto's arms as they carefully got into Gansley's limousine. "Be careful, guys," he implored.

Lector smiled at him. "We will be."

"Seto, maybe we should make sure they get to Nesbitt's place okay," Mokuba realized, looking up at his brother.

"I was thinking the same thing," Seto said. "Drive out and we'll be right behind you."

Gansley nodded. "Thank you."

"It'd be great if we could catch this freak before he manages to get anyone else hurt," Joey said darkly.

"It sure would," Yugi said.

Just in case that would happen, Mai's and Bakura's groups followed behind the two limousines. But no one appeared to be tailing them and they arrived at Nesbitt's house without incident. They drove into the garage before anyone exited.

"Well, here we are," Mokuba said slowly. He rolled down the window and watched as most of the Big Five got out first and then Crump and Nesbitt reached to help Lector. The injured man stumbled and fell against them, but they held fast.

"You're going to be just fine, Lector," Johnson said. "And we _will_ get to the bottom of this!"

"I hope without any more people getting hurt," Lector worried.

"As do we all," Gansley sighed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes: The Big Bad is an OC of mine who pops up in fics periodically, including several times in my **_**Pendulum Swings**_** arc.**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Nesbitt's house was, naturally, the most highly automated out of all the Big Five's homes. He loved Smart technology and every object in the house that could be used with it was part of his Smart Home network.

It was always a bit of a surreal experience for the other four men when they stayed over at Nesbitt's house. Robot vacuums would come out at a set time to go over the floors. Lights would turn on and off when they were programmed to—or when Nesbitt used his Smartphone in real time to override previous programming. Computers, washing machines, microwaves, even the refrigerator, were all part of Nesbitt's network.

"I always feel like I'm stepping into the future when I walk in here," Crump remarked. "There was this kids' book about Scrooge McDuck's house being like this and driving Donald and his nephews crazy!"

"Heh. There was a time when no one really believed this kind of technology would happen," Nesbitt said, "but I always knew it was the logical progression of things."

He steered them over to the elevator. He usually preferred the traditional stairs to stay more physically fit, but in Lector's condition the elevator would certainly be more preferable. Lector gratefully stepped in, and they all quickly traveled up to their usual guestrooms on the second floor.

"We're going to have to run crosschecks on everyone we met through the years," Gansley said grimly. "Someone somewhere must know John Black!"

"That is gonna take forever!" Crump moaned.

"No, it won't," Nesbitt said. "All of our records are in our computer network. All I have to do is have my supercomputer run the crosscheck. Mine rivals Mr. Kaiba's." He smirked.

"That figures," Crump said.

"That's wonderful, Nesbitt," Lector said. He managed a weak but genuine smile as they got out of the elevator and made their way to his room.

"I just hope it'll turn up something," Nesbitt growled. "There's still the chance that 'John Black' isn't really this guy's name."

"Well, we can also run this picture through the records too, right?" Crump chirped, holding up his phone.

"Yes," Nesbitt nodded. "As long as he hasn't had cosmetic surgery, the computer should be able to recognize him if his picture is anywhere in there."

Johnson cringed. "That's a lot of variables."

"Right now it's all we've got to go on," Nesbitt retorted. "I'm sure the supercomputer will find something." He reached and opened the door to Lector's room.

Lector was relieved to get into the bedroom and be able to sink into the soft mattress. But the realization that he still needed to get back out of his clothes and into his pajamas left him almost more exhausted than before. And then there was the news about Noa's death to process. . . .

"Are you okay, Buddy?" Crump asked in concern.

Lector sighed. "I don't know."

"I know it must've been hard to hear the truth about Noa's death," Johnson said. "Especially such a horrible truth. . . ."

"And especially after just talking to Noa," Crump added.

Lector nodded. "Noa said he'd come to terms with what happened to him and he's happy now. But this shouldn't have happened." He gripped a handful of quilt. "Noa should be alive right now! No ten-year-old child should ever have to face death for a reason like this!"

"No, they shouldn't," Gansley said darkly.

Nesbitt shifted, looking up from where he was giving his supercomputer directions via Smartphone. "I wish I really knew something to say. . . ."

"What is there to really say?" Lector gripped the quilt tighter. "I want to see that wretch pay, and pay hard. I just hope the justice system will really come through. They fall short so many times."

"I believe child murder is still one thing that they'll throw the book at," Gansley said. "I'm sure Bernhardt will get what he deserves."

"And one thing you have to remember now, Lector, is that he was determined," Johnson said. "If it hadn't worked to strike Noa down that night, he definitely would have tried again. You are not to blame!"

Lector sighed. "I will try to think of it that way, but I must admit that it still isn't easy."

"Naturally it won't be, at least for a while," Gansley said soothingly. "But I pray you will be able to recognize and accept it eventually."

Not knowing what else much to say, the group fell silent, listening to the clicks of Nesbitt's phone. When the man suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no!" it badly startled all of them.

"Nesbitt, what on Earth?!" Gansley demanded.

Nesbitt was staring at the phone, sheet-white. "The crosscheck came through. John Black was a former medical student who started visiting Dr. Alice Portman when she still worked at KaibaCorp. He dropped off the radar when she was fired. No doubt he became one of her protégés."

"Dr. Portman," Johnson whispered in horror. The former researcher from the Human Factors department at Gozaburo's KaibaCorp hadn't appeared at all since their first trip to New Orleans, where she had cruelly manipulated a situation to make everyone think Lector was dead. For a while, she had seemed determined to toy with their lives just to see how they would react.

"I've gotta admit, I forgot about her," Crump said. "I thought she probably got bored and moved on to find some other test subjects."

Lector's eyes darkened. "That was a grave mistake on all our parts, Gentlemen. Dr. Portman never gives up on a test subject once she's set her eye on them."

"So she's the one out to ruin us?!" Johnson exclaimed.

"I would say it's likely," Lector said. "She probably drew back on purpose so we wouldn't be thinking about her. Then, when we're finally close to success with our penguin sanctuary, she strikes again!" He struggled to sit up straight in his mounting fury. "She wanted to hurt Mr. Kaiba too, and she probably knew that setting all of this in motion and causing us to investigate Noa's death would do that! I wouldn't be surprised if she knew Bernhardt was the murderer and that he would eventually try to kill Mokuba if we didn't get off the case!"

"Lector, you have to calm down!" Gansley sternly told him. "You were badly hurt tonight. You need to rest!"

"Oh, I know I'll never sleep," Lector snarled. But he also knew Gansley was right. He sank back into the pillows.

"But what about John Black?" Johnson wondered. "Does he really hate us for some reason?"

"Maybe he blames us for Dr. Portman getting fired, even though that was Mr. Kaiba's doing," Lector said.

"Or maybe he's just putting on an act," Nesbitt said. "If we're trying to think of someone who has a grudge against us, we'll completely forget about someone like Portman who just wants us as her lab rats!" He got off the bed, eyes flaming.

"Yeah, but could Black really pull off an act like that when he was all doped up?" Crump looked doubtful.

"If he was really skilled and trained he could," Nesbitt said. "And I'm sure we all know that Portman would train him well!" He stalked towards the door.

"Nesbitt! What are you doing?!" Gansley demanded.

"I'm going to confront Black what with my supercomputer found," Nesbitt replied. "Maybe he'll confess to whatever unholy alliance he has with Portman!"

Now Lector tried again to rise off the bed. "Nesbitt!" he cried in desperation. "Don't be a fool! Portman or some of her students might be visiting him and they might try to overpower you! At least take someone with you!"

"I'll go." Gansley got up. "The rest of you stay here and be careful. We don't know what they might try next."

"You both be careful too," Lector said in concern.

"We'll be fine," Nesbitt insisted.

"Also," Gansley said as they headed for the door, "you'd better contact Mr. Kaiba."

Lector nodded and took out his phone. "I'm going to."

xxxx

Nesbitt grew more and more angry on the drive back to the medical center. By the time they arrived, he was almost literally on fire as he stormed inside and past the reception desk. The girl currently looking after it stared after him. "Sir?!"

"We're going to room 403," Gansley calmly told her as he followed.

She gawked. "But . . ."

"It's alright," Gansley said over his shoulder. Under his breath he added, "I hope. . . ."

John Black was awake when Nesbitt suddenly burst through his door. At first he jumped. Then, settling down, he sneered at the outraged man. "Well, come to demand an explanation?" he greeted.

"Oh, I know what you've been up to," Nesbitt snapped. "You're working with Alice Portman to destroy us, just to see how we'll react! Well, are you surprised?! What you've done has led to my best friend being killed! Now I'm going to make sure you suffer!"

Black just looked intrigued. "What are you going to do? Kill me right here in the room?"

"We want answers," Gansley said as he came in after Nesbitt. "If you're truly working with Portman, where is she?"

"You're both idiots if you really think I'll betray my teacher's trust," Black mocked. "You'll never find out where she is from me!"

"Why on Earth are you so loyal to someone like that?" Gansley exclaimed. "You can't believe she really cares about you!"

"What does that matter?" Black scoffed. "What matters is that we're advancing research into the human psyche!"

"You're as twisted as she is!" Nesbitt cried.

"If you won't tell us where she is, at least tell us how this all connects," Gansley frowned. "Why did you dig up Noa Kaiba's death and how did you get so many people to play along with you? August Bernhardt said you didn't like keeping quiet about the truth and he was afraid you would reveal it, so he stabbed you!"

Black relaxed into the pillows, but his eyes still gleamed with sick pride. "It was Dr. Portman's idea to dig up Noa Kaiba's death," he said. "Once she read up on all the details, she was sure that it was the cruelest move she could make to torment the Big Five. And she was sure that since I knew Lector's neighbor and Mr. Dawson, I could get them to play along by threatening to tell the world that Mrs. Dawson ran Noa down. Of course, they were all too willing to blame Lector to keep Mrs. Dawson's name free from scandal. It wasn't personal."

"What about threatening Thorton?!" Nesbitt demanded.

"Just another way to tighten the pressure on poor Démas Lector and make him feel persecuted," Black sneered.

Gansley was very close to grabbing the demented wretch and shaking him, but he tried desperately to just keep hold of his cane and his temper. "But how did you even know Thorton was at the accident site?" he said through clenched teeth.

"Talking to August Bernhardt told me that," Black said. "He admitted it to me in private years ago."

"You slime!" Nesbitt boomed. "You don't even care about what happened because of your mind games, do you?! You couldn't care less that August Bernhardt was Noa's real killer and that he panicked when we started investigating the case! He almost killed Mokuba Kaiba as an idiotic way to warn everyone away from the investigation! And because of that . . ." He took a step forward. "Lector died saving him!"

"Oh, poor Lector, desperately trying to escape his demons by preventing another child's death," Black mocked.

"He loved that kid!" Nesbitt roared. "He would have tried to save him even if he hadn't been tortured by memories of the past!" He stood shaking, clenching and unclenching his fists. "And you're going to pay."

"He's right. You're going to wish that stab wound had killed you."

Everyone looked up. Seto was standing in the doorway, his eyes absolutely merciless.

Black's lips started to curl up in a repugnant smirk. "Dr. Portman will be so pleased that our plan ended up dragging you in as well. She was hoping that would happen."

"Oh really? Well, I wonder if she'll be so delighted when she sees what I do to you because of it!" Seto shot back.

"It's all in the name of science," Black laughed.

Gansley suddenly slammed the bottom of his cane hard enough against the floor that it vibrated. "You set all of this in motion and you're completely unconcerned and uncaring!" he screamed. "You're just as guilty as Bernhardt!"

Black just continued to laugh. "So much emotion! It's everything the Doctor hoped for!"

It was Gansley who finally snapped and lunged, letting his cane drop to the floor as he charged Black with both hands outstretched.

And it was Nesbitt who had to grab him and hold him back in horror, shaking. He would never find it fair or right, but he knew Gansley would be punished by the law if he did anything to Black. And he would never forgive himself if Gansley's justifiable rage led to an irreparable situation for his beloved friend and leader.

"Don't do it, Gansley," he rasped, clutching the older man desperately from behind. "Don't do it. He's not worth giving up our dream. He's not worth giving up . . . being together."

Gansley breathed heavily, still tense, still filled with rage and a desire for violence. But he finally nodded, allowing Nesbitt's true words to sink into his mind and his heart. He relaxed in Nesbitt's grasp.

"No," he conceded. "He isn't." He looked up at the taller man. "That would have been Portman's final victory." Drawing a shaking breath, he stepped away from Nesbitt. "Thank you."

Nesbitt bent and picked up Gansley's cane. "Yeah," he said as he handed it to him.

Seto stepped aside and allowed the officers he had brought with him to hurry in and read Black his rights as they arrested him. "I guess there's no hope of finding out where Portman is," he said in disgust.

"Most likely not, judging by how loyal this fool is to her," Gansley growled. "But I'm sure you'll try anyway, Mr. Kaiba."

"You can bet I will," Seto said. "And you two had better get back to the others. I know they'll be worried about you."

"They certainly are," Gansley nodded. "_All_ of the others." He gave Black a pointed look and finally started to sneer himself. "You see, our dear Lector isn't dead."

Black's eyes widened in his surprise. But then, smirking, he replied, "Well-played, Mr. Gansley, Mr. Nesbitt. Well-played."

"Oh, our rage was real," Nesbitt retorted. "Lector was badly hurt, and he could have been killed. And in any case, he's been suffering emotionally from your sickening stunt. Gansley really did want to do damage to you. So do I. But . . . we want to be with the others more."

Gansley smiled a bit more. "Yes. You understand now, Nesbitt. And you reminded me when I forgot." His eyes narrowed. "But don't think that means we'll go easy on you legally, Black. You'll have to deal with us as well as with Mr. Kaiba."

"I look forward to it," Black leered.

"Ugh," Gansley said in disgust as he turned away.

xxxx

Lector was restless at Nesbitt's house, worried about both him and Gansley. He shifted and squirmed on the bed in spite of his injuries. Sleep was definitely hopeless as long as they were gone.

"I'm sure they'll be okay," Crump tried to comfort him.

"I wish I was sure," Lector sighed. "Whoever's out to get us is ruthless and cruel. If it's Portman, and she sees the chance to get a couple of us alone, I'm sure she'll try to do more damage."

The lights suddenly flickered and went out.

". . . So, did Nesbitt forget to pay the bill?" Crump cracked.

Johnson wasn't laughing. "On the other hand, what if Portman is striking here?! Could she hack into Nesbitt's security system?"

Lector went stiff. "If it would help her scheme, she would learn how to do it."

"Oh great." Crump groped around in the dark and finally opened the desk drawer. "Is there still a gun in here?"

"I didn't take it out," Lector said.

"Just be sure you know who's there before you shoot," Johnson said in concern.

"I'm going to text Nesbitt." Lector took out his phone.

_Nesbitt, are you and Gansley alright?_

_The power just went out here._

"Everything's so high-tech around here, I'm sure Nesbitt will get a notification if his security's been breached," Johnson said.

Crump was shining his phone on the gun to make sure it was loaded. "Guess there's no chance it's just a late summer power outage. It's been raining a lot lately."

Johnson looked to the window. "I see the house next-door is lit up."

Crump heaved a sigh. "That's what I was afraid of."

They all sensed rather than heard or saw the figure standing in the doorway. "Dr. Portman," Lector said darkly. "It is you, isn't it?"

"You're very perceptive, Mr. Lector," came the unwelcome and familiar voice.

"So you really were behind all of this!" Crump spat. "What the heck for?!"

"For science, of course," Portman replied. "You should have known I wasn't finished with you."

"Yeah? Well, we never have paid you back for what you did in New Orleans," Crump said. "You made us all think Lector was dead!"

"Yes, and you delivered such a fascinating series of reactions in response!" Portman exclaimed. "Mr. Gansley was so heartbroken he wanted to accept Mr. Lector's death and be done with it. Mr. Johnson went catatonic when he failed to revive Mr. Lector. Mr. Nesbitt flew into a rage. Later, his mind shut down and he pretended to be a robot to hide from the incredible grief. And you, Mr. Crump, kept hoping for a miracle. Interesting that you got it, isn't it?"

"Shut up," Crump snarled. "You know I've got a gun, right?"

"Of course you do. But you'll have to be very careful when using it so as to avoid hitting your friends."

Crump kept his phone face-down on his lap, not wanting to reveal their light source too soon. But Portman seemed able to move as silently as Nesbitt could from his kendo training. Crump couldn't get a fix on her position at all.

"What are you going to do with us?" Lector demanded. "You must know Nesbitt and Gansley aren't here."

"Naturally. What I intend is for them to come back to a horrible scene," Portman replied. "Mr. Nesbitt has been teetering on the brink of snapping for quite some time now. If he comes and find all three of you either dead or badly hurt in his house, where you were supposed to be safe, I'm certain he won't be able to take it any longer."

Neither could Johnson. "No!" he screamed, blindly running forward in the direction of her voice. Crump shined his phone's light and Johnson tackled her to the floor. Undaunted, she tried to stab him with the hypodermic needle in her hand. Johnson only barely dodged in time and grabbed her wrist, fighting to hold it away from him.

The gun went off. The needle flew out of Portman's hand and jabbed into the carpet.

"Excellent, Mr. Crump!" Portman exclaimed, her eyes wild with madness. "But surely you don't think I only had one."

"You won't be able to reach any more of them," Johnson vowed. He straddled the mad scientist at her waist and pressed both her wrists into the floor. "Lector, do we have any phone service at all?!"

"No!" Lector exclaimed in despair.

Crump snarled. "Well, we'll havta make due. I'm sure Nesbitt got the notification that his security's down, and if he can't get it back up remotely, he'll call the police."

Lector was sure too. But he wasn't willing to bet that all they had to do was hold Portman down to be safe. "Did you really come here alone?" he asked. "You usually travel with several henchmen."

Portman sneered. "You remember me so well, Mr. Lector."

Now four burly men appeared in the doorway. But before they could enter, a transparent figure came out of nowhere and blocked their path, stretching out his arms to prevent their entry. "Leave them alone!" he cried.

Lector stared. "Noa," he whispered.

The thugs screamed. "What the . . . !"

"It's just a hologram," one said in annoyance.

"Are you so sure?" Noa sneered. "The electricity isn't working in the house, thanks to your boss."

Portman was also staring at the sight. She, on the other hand, knew exactly what she was looking at, and that fascinated her all the more. "The spirit of young Noa Kaiba," she exclaimed. "He actually came to protect you?!"

That was too much for her men. "A ghost?!" they wailed. They turned to flee, but the one in front suddenly met with Nesbitt's fist. He fell back with a gasp as blood sprayed from his nose.

Nesbitt glowered at him. "You'd get worse than that if I had my way," he growled.

The police hurried past him to arrest all of the thugs.

"Portman's in here!" Johnson called.

Gansley and Nesbitt rushed in and helped Johnson pull her to her feet. "This time you underestimated us," Gansley said. "You're going back to the asylum for the criminally insane."

"That's alright," Portman said. "My students will continue my research. You'll never catch them all!"

"We can sure try," Crump retorted.

An officer came in to arrest Portman and read her rights. Johnson, Gansley, and Nesbitt stepped back.

"Are you alright?" Nesbitt demanded. "I knew as soon as the security system went down that something was wrong."

"We're fine," Lector smiled at him. "Thanks to your quick thinking . . . and also to Noa."

"Noa?!" Gansley looked around. "He was here?"

Lector nodded. "He came to prevent Dr. Portman's henchmen from getting in here." He frowned. He didn't see Noa now, but he supposed the boy's purpose had been accomplished.

Crump drew a shaking breath. "Yeah. . . . Thanks, Noa."

The voice in the air was soft but very audible. _"It doesn't make up for what I did to all of you, but I wanted to help."_

The Big Five looked at each other. None of them were sure what to say, but they had all heard it.

"You did," Lector said at last. "Thank you. But . . . before you go . . . back, I think it would really help your mother and Mokuba and also Yugi's group if you could visit them too."

"_I've been with Mom. I'm going to Mokuba now. Goodbye, all of you. Stay safe."_

"Goodbye, Noa," Lector whispered.

Somehow they all felt when Noa left. They still weren't sure what to say to each other about the event, but they did know how to respond to finding each other all safe and sound.

They all held each other close in a group embrace.

"You know, I remember when we had to hesitate and think about if we really wanted to do this," Crump said. "Now it's just second nature to us!"

"We've changed a great deal in the last year, thankfully this time for the better instead of for the worse," Gansley said. "And we all decided we wanted to be this openly affectionate with each other, especially after surviving a disaster."

Lector nodded. "And I am so very thankful we all did survive."

The others certainly all shared the same sentiment.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

Mokuba had been sitting up in bed, staring off at the window without really seeing through it. It had been such an unbearably long day and night, and just when he had hoped it was coming to a peaceful close, he was sure he had heard Seto leaving again not too long ago.

Seto had tried to talk with him on the ride home and after their arrival, knowing that he was badly shaken by the truth about Noa's death. But Seto hated discussing Noa or anything else about the past, and Mokuba could tell it was hard for him. Not to mention that Mokuba really didn't know how he was feeling or how to react, so it had been hard for him to keep up the conversation himself.

Marik had been deeply worried about Mokuba and had offered to stay overnight. He was in a nearby guestroom, probably hoping that Mokuba was sleeping or maybe having even drifted off himself. But if Mokuba texted him, he would most likely come back quickly. Still, Mokuba hated to wake him up if he was asleep. And he really didn't know how to talk to Marik about the news either.

He drew his uninjured leg up and placed his arms around his knee, hugging it as he slumped forward and cried.

"Mokuba?"

He looked up with a jerk. That was Noa's voice. . . . It couldn't be, and maybe it was just his imagination, but he knew what he'd heard.

And there Noa was, standing by the side of the bed. He reached out for Mokuba in concern, and even though his hands weren't solid, the energy from them felt warm and good.

"Noa?" Mokuba quavered. "You're here. . . ."

"I wanted to come and see you while I was here," Noa said. "I know you know the truth about what happened now. I'm glad it's out, but I'm sorry you had to hear it. You're such a kind person, Mokuba. I know this must be a terrible blow for you."

"It is! Noa, I . . ." Mokuba trembled. "I never really thought the truth would be something like this!" His shoulders shook as he sobbed. "It's so awful. . . ."

"It's alright, Mokuba." Noa came closer, looking at the brother he had never appreciated until that fateful day at their father's fortress, when Mokuba's goodness had finally pierced the long years of tremendous loneliness and bitterness and hate. Mokuba had reminded Noa that he really was human, not a machine, and that he couldn't stand by and let all of them die when the virtual world collapsed.

"How is it alright?!" Mokuba countered. "How can it ever be alright?!"

"Because I'm alright now," Noa said. "I'm happy. I live with my grandparents. I never knew them in life, but when I finally accepted that I was dead, they were there to meet me." He smiled. "It's a wonderful place, Mokuba."

"But . . . don't you still wish you were here?" Mokuba asked.

". . . Yes," Noa finally admitted. "I wish you and I could be together and that I could keep discovering what it's really like to have a brother. I've come back to visit sometimes, but no one's ever heard me before. Tonight, though . . . I guess so much has happened that the barrier between our worlds is very thin." He smiled. "Maybe I can keep coming back to visit."

Mokuba perked up a bit. "I'd like that . . . a lot."

"You're lucky that you appreciate what you have, Mokuba," Noa said. "I treated Lector so poorly. I wish I could take it all back, but I can't." A look of awe came into his eyes. "But . . . tonight he forgave me anyway. . . ."

"Lector's a good guy," Mokuba said softly.

"I think I always knew that deep down, but I couldn't ever really acknowledge it until you helped me see who I could really be when free of hatred and arrogance," Noa said. He paused, staring off into the distance for a moment before looking back to Mokuba. "I have to go now, Mokuba. There's still another stop I need to make. But I promise I'll be back. I watch over you guys all the time . . . and I've seen your and Seto's parents."

"You have?" Now Mokuba was staring in awe.

"They still love you both so much," Noa said. "They're always looking out for you too."

Happy tears came to Mokuba's eyes. "Thanks, Noa," he said softly.

"Oh, and there's something Lector might want to see," Noa said. "You too. It's way in the back of the linen closet on the third floor East wing, second shelf."

"I'll look for it when I can get up," Mokuba said in some surprise.

"I'll see you soon," Noa said.

When Seto and Marik both went to check on Mokuba several moments later, they found him asleep and at peace at last, a happy smile on his face.

Seto smiled too. "I don't know what happened here, but something must have gone right for once."

"And thank God for that," Marik said in relief.

xxxx

Nesbitt found himself similarly watching over Lector. The older man was dozing, sinking deeply into the pillows. One hand, sore and bruised, was laying on top of the covers.

Nesbitt stared down at that hand. It had been a nightmare earlier in the evening, after August Bernhardt and his hired assassins had been arrested following their cold-hearted murder attempts. Nesbitt had run over to the sobbing Mokuba, fearing the worse about Lector's condition. He had been so still, laying there in the grass. . . . And Mokuba had seemed to think that Lector was dead or dying.

Nesbitt had lifted that bruised hand, his own hands shaking, as he had searched for a pulse. When he had found one, and a strong one at that, indescribable joy and relief had swept over him.

"_He's still alive,"_ he had exclaimed to Gansley and the others. _"He's not dead!"_

Hope had come into Mokuba's eyes then, just as Nesbitt was sure it had entered his.

_How did we come to this?_ Nesbitt silently mused. _I used to loathe the sight of you, always certain that seeing you meant I'd done something wrong or frowned upon again. Now . . . now I can't bear the thought of ever not seeing you again. It's so illogical. But . . . to lose you, my world would crumble._

It was the same when thinking of losing any of them. He had been terrified of losing Gansley a couple of hours ago. The very thought left him with that same cold horror as when he had feared Lector was dead. It still baffled him to some extent that he cared so much about any of them, although when he and Lector had shared such a rocky beginning it seemed even more incredible that their interaction and feelings had changed so much.

He was both chilled and outraged that Portman had planned to leave Lector, Johnson, and Crump badly hurt or even dead for him and Gansley to find when they returned. It would be horrible enough on its own, but for it to happen in his house when he had volunteered it hoping they would be safe here . . . it was very likely that he would have indeed completely fallen apart.

He clenched a fist. He wanted to take vengeance on that woman, and on all her students. But he had stopped Gansley from attacking John Black, and he really did want to be with his friends above all else. He didn't want to do anything that would ruin that. He would have to be satisfied with seeing justice done in the courtroom and hope, as Lector did, that they would come through.

It troubled him that Portman had studied him enough to be aware that he was dangerously close to snapping. He lost control of his temper regularly, but what Portman had described would be much worse. Had he really been under so much stress that it was possible? He felt that Lector was the one who had been suffering the most, on this case and others, but Lector in turn felt that Nesbitt had suffered the most.

Nesbitt sank back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling. He had withdrawn into himself and pretended to be an android when he had thought Lector was dead because he hadn't been able to handle the pain of the grief. He still felt that someone had to be pretty pathetic to do that. Maybe he was close to becoming completely unhinged. The more he learned about what it was like to deeply care about people, the more he wondered if he could really deal with all of the pain that resulted from it.

On the other hand . . . he couldn't turn back the clock, nor would he want to. He loved the rest of the Big Five so much. To think of removing them and that love from his life and leaving him with only his machines, as he had once thought was all he wanted, would leave him empty and without meaning in his life. To be a machine, he couldn't love, as Lector had said. And he also wouldn't be able to feel love.

He wanted to feel it.

He stared down at his hands. Warm, and organic . . . and very human.

For the first time that he could remember, he was honestly glad to be human. He wasn't thinking how being a machine would be so much better. Now that Lector had put it into perspective, he wondered if the thought of being a machine instead actually frightened him now.

What a switch.

Slowly he curled both hands into fists. He would keep trying to be a good person, someone worthy of his friends' love.

"Nesbitt?"

He started and looked up. Gansley was in the doorway. "Are you alright?"

Nesbitt nodded. "I am." He looked back to Lector. "I really am."

Gansley gave a gruff smile. "Good." Not wanting to risk waking Lector, he came in and just silently laid a hand on Nesbitt's shoulder, transmitting his message through the touch. _Thank you for saving me tonight._

Nesbitt reached up and gripped it. _I couldn't lose you._

They stayed like that for several minutes before Crump and Johnson also wandered in, unable to sleep after so much chaos and wanting to be with the others instead. "Hey, what's going on in here? A party?" Crump cracked.

"Let's say a quiet celebration," Gansley said.

"I'm down with that," Crump said.

Nesbitt leaned back, looking around at all of them. Even though he was hardly a gambling man, he knew that it wasn't logical for them to have beat the odds so many times. Part of him felt that there was no way it would keep happening. The other part didn't want to think too hard about it. Lector had once told him to just accept miracles for what they were, and right now, that was what he wanted to do.

Johnson shook his head. "I don't know how Lector can sleep so peacefully after everything."

"Probably only because he's so exhausted and still not feeling well," Gansley pointed out. "I'm sure once he recovers more he'll have more than one bout of insomnia."

Nesbitt was sure of it too. He reached down, gently laying his hand on Lector's. The other man didn't wake up, but he briefly stirred, moving his fingers in response to the action.

"Do you think we'll have any more hiccups getting Penguin World ready?" Crump wondered.

"The way things have been going? Probably," Nesbitt grunted.

"Maybe it's what we deserve after all we caused, but hopefully in the end we'll be allowed to prove that we can run an honest business," Gansley said.

"I hope we can," Johnson worried. "At least some of us have been pulling dirty tricks for decades. Can we really learn how to do things differently?"

"I certainly hope so," Gansley said. "I've been ruthless in business practices since I was a child."

"Yeah, you know, I've always wondered—how the heck did you steal a lemonade stand from your neighbor?!" Crump demanded. "Did you beat the kid up?"

"Heh, I probably could have, but no, that wasn't my way—even though I have definitely been a verbal bully for most of my life," Gansley said. "It was a bit of smooth-talking Johnson likely would have been proud of. I ended up convincing him that it would make more sense for me to run the stand." His eyes clouded. "I wonder whatever happened to him."

"Do you remember his name?" Johnson asked.

"Nathaniel . . . Blackmore," Gansley finished after a moment of pondering.

Johnson looked a bit troubled. "Blackmore . . . Black. . . . You don't think there's any chance that John Black is his son?"

Gansley quirked an eyebrow. "I hadn't considered it. Would he really want to come after all of us and work with Dr. Portman to torture us just because I took the lemonade stand from his father when we were children?"

"Considering you eventually spun that lemonade stand off into a very successful distributor of frozen lemonade, yes, I think the son might be at least a little angry at you," Johnson said. "For all we know, he could be demented enough to want to make all of us suffer for it."

"Hmm. Maybe you have a point." Gansley sighed and shook his head. "I suppose I'd better try looking Nathaniel up and see what happened to him."

Lector stirred again and this time sleepily opened his eyes.

"Were we being too loud?" Gansley asked in chagrin.

"I don't think so." Lector reached up and swept his hair back with a hand, then just rested it on his forehead. "I'm used to sleeping with a lot of talking going on around me."

"Gansley was just talking about trying to find the guy he took the lemonade stand from," Crump said. "This John Black nutball could be his kid!"

Lector grimaced. "I see."

"Or the name similarity could be a coincidence," Gansley interjected.

"With our luck, it's probably not," Nesbitt muttered. He looked to Lector. "How are you feeling?"

"Could be better." Lector closed his eyes again. He really looked half-asleep. In a moment his breathing deepened and it was obvious he had gone completely back to sleep.

"We'd better try to be quiet," Crump whispered.

Everyone concurred.

xxxx

"Siegfried?"

Siegfried looked over at Leonhard. They had taken a hotel room in Domino City for the night and possibly longer, but Siegfried had mostly been quiet all along the way. After arriving, Siegfried had been sitting on the couch in their suite, staring off into space. Leonhard was growing worried.

"I'm sorry, Leonhard," Siegfried sighed at last. "It's all so much to take in."

"I know." Leonhard looked down. "I feel really betrayed and angry about August. I thought he was a good guy. I'm really glad our father didn't have anything to do with what happened, but . . . it feels horrible to know why he went insane. . . ."

"I've been blaming the Kaiba Corporation all these years for his insanity, and instead it was because of the abominable crime August committed." Siegfried shook his head. "I don't know how to feel about this."

"Even if he had lost his mind because of his obsession over KaibaCorp, that wouldn't have been their fault," Leonhard quietly pointed out.

"I may know that in my head, but it's always been harder to know it in my heart," Siegfried said.

Leonhard bit his lip. "And . . . Father killing himself. . . . Do you think that was because of August too?"

Siegfried froze. He hadn't thought of that, and he still didn't think so. Their father had killed himself because Siegfried had failed him. Siegfried had tried to turn SchroederCorp into a gaming company and then they had learned that KaibaCorp had already done the exact same thing. Mr. von Schroeder had taken a gun to his head that same night.

"No, Leonhard," Siegfried said quietly. "That wasn't because of August."

Leonhard stared up at him. Siegfried had been different ever since their father's suicide, but Leonhard had never really known why or how to help him. He had hoped things might get better, but from the way Siegfried's expression had clouded, it was still something that hung heavily over him.

"You're sure?" Leonhard asked.

"Yes," Siegfried said. "Completely sure."

Leonhard looked down. He felt so helpless when Siegfried was like this. Finally he just snuggled close and put his arms around his brother.

Siegfried started. Then, smiling, he held Leonhard close to him.

"Do you think the company's reputation is still in danger, Siegfried?" Leonhard wondered.

"I don't know, Leonhard," Siegfried sighed. "It was still our chauffeur, even though thankfully it wasn't our father. I doubt the media will be kind with that information."

Leonhard sighed too. "You're probably right. . . ."

"But we won't conceal it . . . not that we could anyway," Siegfried said. "We will just have to deal with whatever happens because of it."

"I think we'll be okay," Leonhard said softly.

"I wish so much that I could believe that," Siegfried said. "It is difficult."

"I know." Leonhard hugged him some more.

Siegfried was grateful for his brother's presence, and his faith. He settled deeper into the couch as he kept his arms around his beloved brother.

xxxx

Yugi and the others had gone to Duke's Black Crown store. It was closed by now, of course, but Duke and David often stayed late for inventory or just to hang out. Duke deserved to know the truth about Noa's death too, so they had all opted to go there.

"The lights are still on," Téa noted. She had talked with Yugi for most of the ride there, deeply worried about him. But they were all reeling, in their own ways. Even Yami Bakura was angry, although he refused to admit it.

Yugi went over and knocked on the doors. "Hello?"

It was Umbra who suddenly appeared from around a shelf. "We're closed . . . oh. I'm sure Mr. Devlin would make an exception for you, Yugi." He went over and unlocked the doors. "Come in." He wasn't expecting for most of the group to be outside, however, and he stared in some shock as they all filed in after Yugi.

"Thanks, Umbra," Yugi said quietly. "Is Duke upstairs in his office?"

"No, he's in the back," Umbra said. "We've been doing inventory tonight." He paused, looking to Joey. "His girlfriend is here too."

"What?!" Joey yelped. "Serenity's here?!"

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes. "Dolt. It shouldn't be such a surprise. Anyway, you _did _plan to tell her too, didn't you?"

"Yeah. . . . I guess I just thought I'd have more time to prepare for how I was gonna tell her," Joey sighed.

The Employees Only door opened. "Hey, what's all the commotion out here?" Lumis grunted.

"Mr. Devlin has a lot of visitors," Umbra replied.

They all headed for the back of the store, but before they reached the storeroom, Duke and Serenity came to the doorway as well. "Hey, guys," Duke greeted. "So how did The Casablanca Club work out for you?"

"And why didn't you tell me you were investigating Noa's death?!" Serenity exclaimed.

Joey sighed. "I'm sorry, Sis. I . . . didn't want you to be sad, thinking about that. And things were getting dangerous too, so . . ."

"That's all the more I should have known!" Serenity countered.

"Well . . ." Joey rubbed the back of his neck. "We've got a lot to tell you both now, that's for sure."

"It sounds heavy," Duke frowned. "We'd better go upstairs."

Soon they were in Duke's office, telling of the dark series of events that had followed through the evening. Duke was grim and Serenity was horrified. And when they both learned the truth of Noa's death, it was a hard blow for them both.

"So he really was killed on purpose," Serenity whispered. "Oh no. . . ." Tears filled her eyes and she turned away. "How horrible . . . !"

Duke drew an arm around her shoulders. "That's really sick," he said darkly. "At least the creep is in jail. . . ."

"Yeah. . . ." Yugi sighed. "But we still don't know who's after the Big Five . . . oh." He blinked in stunned shock. "Lector just sent a text. It was Dr. Portman and one of her students. They're both under arrest now too."

"Good," Duke grunted. "So that should mean that everything's safe again, right?"

"Let's hope so," Téa said.

"At least until the next disaster comes along," Yami Bakura growled.

"Don't say that," Téa groaned.

"You know it's true," Yami Bakura insisted.

"Well . . ." Joey heaved an awkward sigh. "That's it, I guess. . . . All wrapped up. . . . But somehow, even knowing the truth about Noa's death doesn't feel very satisfying when it's a horrible truth like this. . . ."

"I know." Serenity stared at the floor. "So young, and so undeserving. . . . I know it sounds like being rich went to his head, but he didn't deserve to die because of that. He just needed to learn how to be nice again."

"Hello, everyone."

Joey yelped and fell backwards over a chair as Noa appeared in their midst. Everyone else stared, stunned and amazed, and some wondering if this was really real.

"Noa," Yugi gasped.

"Is it . . . really you?" Serenity asked.

"Yes. I just wanted to come see all of you again," Noa said. "I want you to know I'm okay." He sighed. "I'll admit I wish I wasn't dead, and I wish I'd lived my life better than I did, but there's nothing that can be done about any of that now. All I can do is try to move forward. That's all any of you can do."

"I guess so," Téa said softly.

"I'm glad to see you, Noa," Yugi said. "We all are." He gave a sad smile. "And I'm glad we finally know the truth, even though it's an awful one."

Noa nodded, sadly smiling in return. "I'm around a lot," he admitted. "Maybe you can't see or hear or even sense me, but I'm here, trying to watch out for you."

"That means a lot," Téa said.

"It sure does," Yugi said.

"And Tristan?" Noa looked to him. "I don't blame you for having a hard time forgiving me for what I did to all of you. I don't really know how any of you can forgive me. So if you never can, it's alright."

Tristan looked a little embarrassed to be put on the spot, but he ducked his head and nodded. "I'm still trying," he said gruffly. "This'll help."

"Oh . . . hey, Noa? Have you ever seen Pegasus's wife Cecelia?" Yugi asked. "I know it would mean a whole lot to him if he could see her again, or if he even had a message from her. . . ."

"Cecelia," Noa repeated. "No, I don't think I ever have. But I can look."

"Thanks, Noa," Yugi smiled.

". . . What's it like over there?" Bakura asked.

"It's a beautiful place," Noa told him sincerely. "I _have_ seen your sister, Bakura. . . . We play together a lot."

Bakura stared at him in awe. "R-Really?" he choked. Suddenly he was barely able to speak.

"Yeah. She talks about you all the time," Noa smiled. ". . . Your sister too." He looked to Yami Bakura.

"Mine?" Yami Bakura pointed at himself and stumbled back. That was not at all what he had thought he would hear.

"She's free of Kul Elna's curse," Noa said. "She's happy now too."

Yami Bakura just shook his head, too overcome to speak. Bakura smiled, bringing an arm around his shoulders.

Atem also smiled. It was good for everyone to have this closure. He had seen Noa when he had crossed into the afterlife himself, and they had shared a brief but powerful conversation. Noa had been stunned to learn the truth of why Yugi had been so different, and yet, as he had said, somehow the news felt right. He had apologized to Atem for everything he had done and had said that everything Atem had thought about him in the virtual world was correct. Atem had forgiven him and they had parted on good terms.

"Well . . ." Noa looked off at something only he could see and hear. "I have to go now, but like I told Mokuba, I'll be back."

"Good," Téa said, giving him a thumbs-up. "And you'll always be in our hearts."

Yugi gave a firm nod. "That's right."

Noa beamed. "Goodbye, everyone."

In a moment he was gone, but the memory of his presence still lingered. No one quite knew how to speak, not wanting to shatter the poignant and otherworldly feel of their conversation. They looked at each other, the mixed and powerful emotions standing in their eyes. It still hurt knowing why Noa had died, but this would definitely help them start to heal.


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Mokuba stood on a chair, moving old boxes and knick-knacks on the linen closet shelf. He probably shouldn't be up yet, but he felt a lot better today, and he really wanted to find what Noa had wanted him to see. Whatever it was, it had certainly been well-hidden. He wasn't sure any of them had been into this closet at all since moving in.

Finally he grasped the corner of a piece of paper. That seemed so out of place with the other items in the closet that he had to wonder if he had finally found the right thing. It was right up against the wall, so he gave it a careful tug in case it was stuck there. It soon gave way and peeled off, falling against one of the boxes. As he pulled it out, the images on what was clearly a child's drawing caught his eye and he stared in awed amazement. "Oh wow. . . ." He climbed off the chair, wobbling a bit but trying to balance on his good leg. "Lector should definitely have this. . . ."

He sat on the chair, taking out his phone to text Lector.

_Hi, Lector. Are you feeling any better?_

The reply came after a moment.

_I'm a lot better, Mokuba. Thank you._

_How are you?_

Mokuba smiled.

_I'm okay._

The next response took a little longer in coming.

_That's wonderful! Please forgive my tardiness. _

_We're going out to see Johnson's parents._

Mokuba blinked in surprise. He hadn't heard about that.

_That's great! On your way over,_

_could you stop by here a minute?_

_I want to give you something._

He imagined that now Lector was surprised. But Lector quickly responded.

_Of course._

Mokuba slid down from the chair and limped to the stairs. He would wait in the living room. Hopefully it wouldn't take him long to make it down there with his sore ankle. Maybe he could text Leonhard too. He wanted to make sure everything was okay with him; the von Schroeder brothers were still reeling from the truth of what August had done.

It took a few minutes to get downstairs to the couch, as he had to keep stopping to rest when his ankle throbbed too much. But at last he settled into the soft cushions and took out his phone.

_Hi, Leonhard. Are you okay?_

It only took a moment for a reply to come.

_Yes, Mokuba. Thank you. How are you?_

Mokuba's fingers flew over the keys.

_I'm getting there. Is everything okay with the news_

_about your chauffeur goimg public?_

This time it took a bit longer for the reply to pop onto the screen.

_I think it's too soon to tell._

_Some people are sympathetic to_

_Siegfried and me and some aren't. _

_But I think we'll be okay._

Mokuba frowned.

_I sure hope so. It's not you guys' fault!_

It was then that Lector arrived. Seto, who was passing through the living room on his way to the study, opened the door for him so Mokuba wouldn't decide to get up and do it. He could tell from the way his brother was rubbing his ankle that he had probably moved too much too soon.

"Hello, Mr. Kaiba," Lector greeted him. "Mokuba asked me to come over for a moment."

Seto nodded. "I know. Come in." He stepped aside and let Lector pull the doors shut after him as he entered the living room.

"Hi, Lector," Mokuba smiled at him. "Um . . . the other night, Noa came to see me, and . . . well, he told me about this and wanted me to get it for you." He held up the piece of paper.

Lector took it in stunned surprise. It was a drawing in crayon, depicting Noa standing with Gozaburo, Mrs. Kaiba, and him. Across the top he had written _My Family._

For a long moment Lector could only stare at it, over and over, first the image, then the writing. _My Family._ Noa had put him in a picture of his family. . . .

A flash of memory. He remembered when Noa had been drawing this. The boy had been sitting at the kitchen table, his crayons everywhere, as he colored the grass and the house.

"_Are you drawing a picture for your father?"_ Lector had idly asked as he had come in.

Noa had paused, thinking about it, before starting to draw an image of himself. _"Maybe," _he had said. _"I'm drawing me and my family."_

"_I see,"_ Lector had said. _"That's very nice. I'm sure your parents will both enjoy it."_

"_I hope so,"_ Noa had said.

Lector had never seen the finished product. They had argued again later that evening and Noa hadn't ever let him see the picture. It hadn't been long after that when Noa had died. . . .

He stared at the picture again. Noa had drawn that after the time when Lector had felt forced to discipline him. Noa really hadn't hated him, as Lector had thought all through the years. Noa had drawn him respectfully and even showed him smiling. And in the picture, Noa looked happy to be with all of them, including him.

"Lector?"

He came back to the present. Mokuba was looking up at him worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Lector answered, his voice overflowing with emotion. "Yes, Mokuba. Thank you so much. I will treasure this." He bent down and hugged Mokuba close.

Mokuba smiled and hugged back. "I think . . . I think Noa always wanted you to have it," he said softly. "Maybe that's why it got put away and was lost. I'm sure his mom would have had it if she'd known it was around."

"Maybe you're right," Lector mused. "I'm going to visit her today as well. I need to let her know everything." He looked at the picture. "I'll show her this. Maybe I should let her have it. . . ."

"I think you should both have it," Mokuba said. "Why not make a copy?"

Lector smiled a bit. "I believe I will. I really would like to have it myself." He glanced to the window. "For now I'd better go, before Johnson loses the courage to do this. He hasn't seen his parents in many years."

"Wow. This must be a really big day for him," Mokuba said.

"It is," Lector agreed.

They said their Goodbyes and Lector headed for the door. Before he went out, Seto finally spoke up. "By the way, your neighbor and Mr. Dawson are both being charged with obstruction of justice."

Lector looked to him in surprise. "I see." His expression darkened. "Well, I'm sorry for them that they were led to believe the late Mrs. Dawson hit Noa, but I'm still angry that I was falsely accused because they were so bound and determined to hide what they thought was the truth. If Mrs. Dawson had hit him it would have been an accident, but Mrs. Clarkson was trying to say I deliberately did it. There is no excuse for that." But then he sighed and shook his head. "Of course, I have done things that there are no excuses for either."

"I think everybody has," Mokuba said.

"At least you're trying to make up for your wrongdoings," Seto said to Lector. "Time will tell whether they will too."

Lector nodded. "What about Mr. Thorton?"

"He didn't actually commit a crime, and he did end up giving Alister the phone number for Black's office, so he's not being charged," Seto said.

"That sounds fair." Lector stepped onto the porch. "Well, I will see you both later."

"Bye, Lector!" Mokuba called.

Seto just nodded as a Goodbye.

Mokuba looked up at Seto as Lector headed down the steps. "Hey, Big Brother, did I hear you actually inviting Téa to come over?" he asked.

"Yes, she's going to have lunch with us," Seto said. "I thought that would be nice for you, Mokuba."

Mokuba smiled. "It'll be nice for both of us." It was the first time he could actually remember Seto ever making the first move to invite anyone over for a non-business-related reason. Seto might try to say it was only for Mokuba, but Mokuba was sure that Seto wanted to see Téa too.

Indeed, Seto didn't deny Mokuba's statement. "She should be here soon," was all he said.

"Great," Mokuba beamed.

Outside, the rest of the Big Five watched in surprise as Lector walked over to Johnson's car. "So, what's up?" Crump asked. "What did Mokuba want to give you?"

Lector climbed into the car and held out the picture. "The truth," he said softly. "Noa did care about me, even back then."

Nesbitt's eyes flickered in his surprise.

Gansley smiled, pleased. "I'm not surprised, but I'm very happy for you, Lector. You really needed this."

"I did," Lector agreed. "I don't even think I realized how much I needed it until I saw this. I thought it didn't matter to me whether Noa liked me or not. But . . . it really did hurt when I thought he didn't. I just locked that knowledge away."

The others were happy for him too. Johnson especially stared at the picture in amazement as his chauffeur started off for the middle-class neighborhood they had visited not long ago. He hoped that his parents still considered him their family.

xxxx

Johnson's parents' home looked much the same as it had the other day. The car was in the driveway; they were definitely home.

Johnson drew a deep breath as he got out of the car. "Well, this is it," he said.

The others quickly followed him.

"I have a question," Nesbitt said when they started up the driveway. "If they were such caring parents, why didn't they ever try to contact you? Even though you're the one who left, they must have heard about you on the news. You would have been easy to find."

Johnson sighed. "They probably thought I needed space, that contacting me would only make matters worse."

"But what about when we all fell into comas?" Nesbitt persisted. "They were surely informed about that! But they did nothing!"

Lector frowned. He had to admit to having many of the same concerns, after what his family had done to him. But he hated to voice those feelings when they might not be true in this case. He didn't want to scare Johnson away when he had finally gathered enough courage to do this.

"Hush," he whispered to Nesbitt.

Nesbitt scowled at him.

"Maybe they came," Johnson said softly, wanting to convince himself as well as Nesbitt. "Maybe they saw me lying like that and it was too much for them, so they left. . . ."

Gansley sighed and laid a hand on Johnson's shoulder. He certainly hoped so. His parents had come often, worrying about him and regretting that they could do nothing for him. The infirmary staff had told him how they kept coming back, always hopeful they were getting through to him and always saddened when there was no change.

"Let's get this over with," Johnson broke into his thoughts. He reached the porch and climbed up the steps to the freshly painted storm door. After another long hesitation, he rapped on the glass.

"I dunno if they'll hear that," Crump said. He also wasn't sure if this was a good idea. He had encouraged it at the time, but now that the moment was upon them he feared that Johnson would be disappointed.

The door flew open and Johnson rocked back in surprise. He recognized the woman staring out at him, despite the years that had passed. "H-Hello, Mother," he stammered. "I . . . I know I'm not worthy, but I . . . I've come home. . . ."

"Thomas!" she exclaimed, throwing the door wide as she ran onto the porch in her slippers. "Thomas, you're home! Bill, Thomas is home!" She threw her arms around him while he stood, stunned. Finally he moved to hug back.

"I . . . I didn't think you'd ever want to see me again. . . ."

"Nonsense!" a gruff man snorted as he lumbered to the door. "Of course we wanted to see you!" He joined the hug.

"But only when you wanted to see us," Mrs. Johnson said softly. "Well, we longed to see you so much all through the years, but we knew it wouldn't mean anything if you didn't want to see us too."

Johnson suddenly choked back a sob as he clutched them both. "I was such an ungrateful fool! I'm so sorry. . . ."

"We know, Son," Mr. Johnson said quietly. "We know."

"I wanted to come back so many times, but I never had the strength until now," Johnson said. "Oh. . . ." He didn't want to leave the hug, but he looked over his father's shoulder at the rest of the Big Five. "These are my friends. They've been with me through everything and they encouraged me to come back when I finally told them."

"Thank you," Mrs. Johnson said to them. "You don't know how much this means to us."

"We have some idea," Gansley said with a gruff but sincere smile.

"We've followed everything that's happened to you, Thomas," Mrs. Johnson told her son.

"We know about your friends," Mr. Johnson agreed. "We're happy you have them."

"Now, why don't you all come in so we can talk?" Mrs. Johnson exclaimed.

Everyone was happy to follow them inside, although Lector couldn't deny the ache he felt. How he wished his family had all been this happy to see him! He was so immeasurably thankful for Evangeline's forgiveness and love, but he still felt heartbroken about the others.

Nesbitt caught his eye and gave him a sympathetic look. He understood, and felt quite the same. His family never wanted to see him.

Crump laid his big hands on both their shoulders as they headed inside. He also understood to some extent, although he had never had loving parents and couldn't fathom what it would be like to have them, let alone to have them and then lose that love. He was certainly thankful that Johnson's parents still loved him and wanted to be with him, but it didn't take away the sorrow in his heart about his own situation, nor his sorrow for Lector and Nesbitt.

Mrs. Johnson turned to look at them again when they were all inside. "Any friends of Thomas's are part of the family," she said.

"But . . . you don't even know us," Nesbitt said in surprise.

"We know you love Thomas," Mrs. Johnson replied. "And you brought him back to us. That's all we need to know for now."

Lector started to smile. "We are honored," he said with a bow.

He jumped in a bit of surprise when a familiar woman peered out from the living room. "Lector," she said quietly.

"Mrs. Kai-Mrs. Anderson," he quickly corrected himself.

"I was just visiting my friends," Mrs. Anderson said. "I'll leave you to get acquainted with them."

"Mrs. Anderson . . ." Lector hesitated, then held out Noa's picture. "Mokuba found this today. He said . . . Noa told him about it. . . ."

Mrs. Anderson looked at it and gasped. "Noa. . . ." She came over, running her fingers over the crayon figures. She had never seen the picture before, and seeing it now was almost like discovering a new piece of artwork when Noa had still been alive—only more incredible, since she had of course not thought there were any crafts Noa had made that she had not seen, and she had known there would never be any more.

"Mokuba thinks Noa wanted me to have it," Lector stammered, "but . . . I would imagine it really belongs to you."

"No." She looked up at him. "It's for you, Lector—Noa's way of telling you he loved you in spite of all the problems you two had." She smiled. "You keep it."

Lector bowed his head. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I'll make you a copy, though. . . ."

"I would like that very much," Mrs. Anderson said. ". . . Noa visited me the other night. He told me he was with me much of the time, but he hadn't been able to communicate before. Now he could." She choked back a bittersweet sob and a shaky smile came over her features. "I spoke to my son again." She looked to where Johnson's reunion with his parents was continuing. "I really spoke to him again. . . ."

"I am so happy for you," Lector told her in all sincerity.

She smiled. "So am I. I always wanted to believe Noa was happy, and that he was around even if I couldn't see him, but I didn't know any of that for certain until now. Maybe now I can feel like I'm really living my life again, instead of just going through the motions."

"I pray you will able to keep this happiness," Lector said. "In the last months, we have also been happy as we never were before."

"That's understandable," she said, "since you've been discovering just how much you care about each other. There is nothing more important or powerful than love, Lector. And not just romantic love, but every kind of true love."

Lector nodded. "Yes. . . . You're right. It was love that saved me when I was lost in the darkness, and love that in turn saved my friends."

Mrs. Anderson smiled and nodded. "Nothing else could have got through to all of you."

Mrs. Johnson looked over at them. "Betty! Do you know our son, Thomas?" She beamed, keeping her hands on Johnson's shoulders.

Mrs. Anderson smiled a bit. "I don't know him well, but yes, we've met before." She looked to Johnson. "I'm glad you finally decided to come home."

"So am I," Johnson said. He looked from his still-overjoyed parents to his dear friends. "So am I. . . ."

xxxx

The Big Five were with Johnson's parents for quite some time and made plans for more visits in the future. By the time Lector got home, it was very late.

As usual, the rest of the Big Five came inside with him, planning to just stay over at his house tonight. Nesbitt caught Lector studying the end table where he kept a framed picture of all of them together. "What're you thinking?" he wondered.

"I'm thinking I'd like to frame this and set it on the table next to our picture," Lector told him, holding up Noa's drawing.

"Yeah," Nesbitt said gruffly. "You should do that." He smiled. "I have to admit, I never thought the kid cared about you, but what do I know. I've never been good at figuring out human emotions. I'm glad to be wrong this time."

"Nesbitt . . ." Lector looked at him sadly. "I know you're still hurting about what happened with your family. . . ."

Nesbitt looked away. "Maybe someday they'll want me back, maybe they won't," he said. "At least Johnson has his parents back."

"And he, and you, will always have the Big Five," Lector said.

Nesbitt nodded and finally turned back. "You're the best family I've ever had," he admitted, still gruff but completely sincere. "And I want to be worthy of you. I know things can never be the way they were before we got thrown in that _Bendy and the Ink Machine_ Shadow Game, but . . . maybe if I can make more of an effort, things can be even better than they were before that."

Lector stared at Nesbitt in surprise, but it quickly melted to a touched smile. "I know you can do it," he said. "And I'll try harder too. In spite of what you say about me only reacting normally to the things you're doing, I could handle it differently at least sometimes. I don't always have to call you a fool . . . even if you're acting like one."

Now Nesbitt looked surprised. But he quickly adapted and smiled his approval.

Gansley had hung back with Crump and Johnson to let them talk. He looked pleased as well. "They're going to be alright," he said.

"We all are," Crump said.

"Yes. . . ." Johnson looked thoughtful as he stared off into the distance. "My family really accepted me. I just wish there was something we could do for Crump, Lector, and Nesbitt regarding their families."

"Eh, mine's a lost cause," Crump snorted. "They never loved me. Couldn't even be bothered to be with me sometimes.

"I kind of feel like Lector's is a lost cause too, but I guess we'll have to see. Nesbitt's . . . I'm not sure about his."

"We have each other, and that's the most important thing," Gansley said.

The others most definitely agreed.


End file.
